Fallen Angel
by TheDarkDancerWithTheDawnRose
Summary: Death isn't just the end. If you're good you're given a choice and Ianto chooses the one that will help him get back to Jack. Meanwhile Jack travels with the Doctor and tries to make the pain go away, unfortunately they choose a bad planet to land on.
1. Fallen Angel

Hi everyone I know there are people out there right now who are going to be very upset at me for putting up a new story when I still have two others to write but I got into Torchwood just recently and more than any other part of the story was the relationship between Jack and Ianto. Of course now they've killed Ianto and that SUCKED!!!! He was my favourite character and him and Jack were so lovely together. The two things I never wanted to see happen in the series were Ianto dying and Jack ending up with Gwen!!! I can't think of anything that would be worse for the show than that and now the lovely writer has done one of those I don't think I can even think about watching the new series if it ever gets made, particularly with Ianto's death happening the way it did, it was just written badly. Anyway enough complaining I want Ianto back so I'm writing this story to cheer myself up. I hope you like it please review and let me know what you think. If you think it sounds silly or anything of the like let me know. Kayla

I don't own torchwood. If I did Tosh, Owen and Ianto would still be alive, Martha would have taken Suzie's place and they'd have sent Gwen and Reece away somewhere so they weren't in the show to whinge anymore they're even worse than me!!!

Fallen Angel

Chapter 1, Can Life Go on??

Captain Jack Harkness opened his eyes and looked around him. Walls, weird lights, strange buzzing feeling in his head, someone out in the next room seemingly talking to himself…yep, he was still in the TARDIS. Every morning he woke up wishing that it had all been a dream. That horrible creature in the tank, his grandson's death, his daughter's hatred and Ianto…

Jack's eyes welled with tears at the thought of his beautiful Ianto lying dead in his arms, the cold feeling of Ianto's lips as Jack kissed him goodbye. Every morning, before he opened his eyes, he reached across the bed hoping his to feel Ianto's warm body beside his and every morning he was disappointed.

It had been over a year since he'd left the earth and still the pain hadn't dimmed, not even a little. He still felt the pain of Ianto's death as if it had happened mere moments ago. He'd spent the last ten months or so with the Doctor, travelling about, trying to help in any way he could. He hoped that in helping others he might find some peace within himself. Hadn't happened yet, and any hope he may have felt in the beginning was quickly dimming.

Being with the Doctor had helped a little though. He missed Ianto and felt responsible for what happened to him and Stephen. The Doctor missed Donna Noble and blamed himself for what the other version of himself did to Davros; so they had quite a lot to talk about especially when they were drunk.

Yes, the Doctor could get drunk, and when he did he sang, danced and hugged everyone. Jack had awoken after many a drunken evening with the Doctor wrapped up in his arms and since the young time lord smelled nothing like Ianto, Jack never had to worry about waking up and fooling himself that it might be his lovely Welshman in bed with him.

Of course nothing ever happened between them; that just would have been weird. But over the last few months Jack had learnt that the Doctor really liked being held, he just didn't tell anyone because, well let's face it, he is the Doctor and he doesn't tell anyone anything about himself. Not until he's had a few scotches anyway.

Standing up, Jack stretched and headed for the TARDIS' equivalent of a shower which consisted of sonic waves coming at you from a different direction every few seconds and blowing the dirt or whatever off your body without tearing your skin off. Ingenious really, and when it was done you got out and the shower cleaned itself.

Unfortunately this meant that you couldn't use shampoo or soap or any of those lovely things humans used so he was grateful that he and the Doctor always smelt good due to their biology.

Flipping the switch he stood amongst the sonic waves and closed his eyes, his mind wandering back to his lovely Ianto. "Ianto," he whispered softly. "I miss you."

--

Ianto Jones stood in the high court of Heaven, looking up at the elders with his now forest green eyes. A slight breeze blew through the room, rustling the feathered wings that now adorned his back, the same lovely green colour as his eyes, and the white robe he wore to identify him as a student of the angelic arts.

He waited patiently while they deliberated over whether or not he was ready to come out of training and ascend to the level of guardian. By all rights he shouldn't even be in the council chamber being assessed, not for another two years at least. But he had pushed himself to the limits over the past year, mastering all the skills he needed to learn to be a guardian and his mentor was sure that he was ready to go out on his own.

He'd worked so hard for this. Making himself strong, working on his gifts. All so he could get out of the heavenly realms and find Jack. He knew it was against the rules to interfere with the living unless you were under orders from the high council but he had to risk it, he had to find Jack again.

At last the head of the council stood up from his chair and addressed the room.

"Ianto Jones. You come before us today seeking to be elevated to the level of guardian. While you know full well that this level should take you years to reach your master believes you are ready now. You have performed splendidly in all of your assessments and we can find no reason why we should not grant you your new level, however." He leant forward and looked down at Ianto.

"Ianto Jones I must ask you. Do you feel that you are ready for this position?"

Ianto took a deep breath and replied. "Yes Master Elder I do."

"And that is your honest opinion? You're not just saying so because your master wishes you to be elevated?"

"Yes Master Elder, it is my honest opinion." Ianto turned to look back at his mentor who was standing at the back of the circle watching him. "Master Allira is a hard task master but that is exactly why I requested that she be my mentor. I wanted someone who would push me to be the very best I can be and I believe whole heartedly that she has done just that. I feel that I am ready to take on the responsibilities of my new position."

The elder sat back in his chair and nodded. "Very well then, the elders of the high court of the eternal kingdom hereby grant you the rank of guardian."

A white light filled the chamber and the next thing Ianto knew his white robe had been replaced by what appeared to be some kind of light weight, forest green armour. It covered his chest, neck, hands, his arms and his legs and fit to his body like a second skin. He grinned as he thought of the kind of things Jack would say when he saw him in it.

He was incredibly relieved that he didn't have to wear a robe anymore, gusts of wind made that kind of outfit rather improper. He was going to have to find himself new footwear however, sandals weren't really his thing.

He smiled up at the elders and thanked them sincerely for his new rank before heading out of the chamber. Allira met him outside and looked him up and down.

"Well, don't you look all official now?"

Ianto smiled. "Thank you, Master Allira, for everything," he said sincerely.

Allira raised her eyebrows at him. "What, do you think your attachment to me just ends here?" She asked shaking her head. "No, I'm going to be watching you for a long time, Mister Ianto Jones and don't you forget it."

Ianto smiled and leaned forward until they were only an inch apart. "You're going to miss me," he taunted.

Allira glared at him. "Don't flatter yourself little cub, you're just another student to me."

"Don't bother trying to hide it Allira. If you weren't going to miss me you wouldn't be bothering to keep an eye on me. None of the other masters do it." He teased.

"Most of the other Masters have students that went through three years of being angels before being let out on their own. They had time to let go of their old lives and move on, you have not."

Ianto turned serious then. "Even if it had been three years, I would still be the same as I am now. No amount of time is going to change what I feel."

Allira's look softened then. "Ianto, you still say his name in your sleep, you still reach out for him when you wake up in the morning. It's been a year now and you know what Jack is like. He's lost a million lovers over the centuries and moved on from every one of them within a small space of time, why do you think you would be any different?"

"I don't," Ianto replied honestly. "I always knew I'd be a temporary thing for him at best but I will love him forever. If there is even the smallest chance that I can be with him again, even if it's only for a short amount of time I have to try."

"And what are you going to do if he has moved on?" Allira demanded.

Ianto looked down. "I'll be his friend," he replied, looking up at her once more. "The one person forever by his side. Always looking out for him, always listening, always protecting. I don't care about anything else as long as I can be where he is. That's all I want, all I've ever wanted."

Allira reached forward and took his hands, something she'd never done before. "Ianto you have so much promise, such extraordinary gifts, so much power. There's so many things you could do with this existence do you really want to throw them all away for a man that may never be able to love you?"

Ianto smiled at her tenderly and leant forward to place a gently kiss on her cheek. "You'd do the same, you know you would. That's why you helped me get to where I am so quickly; you and I both know it." He pulled back and looked at her once more. "You've been a wonderful mentor to me and I feel blessed to have had you with me for the past year. But you knew this day was coming Allira, from the very first day you taught me how to read the thoughts of others you knew. I have to find Jack; I can't leave him to wander eternity alone."

Allira nodded and looked down. "I know," she replied. "But you're like a son to me Ianto; I don't want to see you get hurt."

"Thank you," he replied softly. "I'll miss you." He reached forward and pulled her into tight hug. "Take care of yourself."

"I will" she replied, a tear rolling down her cheek. She pulled back and wiped it away before he could see it.

He gave her one last smile and headed off toward the gateway to the after life. There was still one more thing he had to do before he went looking for Jack. A few minutes later found him standing just outside the massive, glowing gateway and he took a deep breath before stepping through.

A few bright glowing lights and swirls of colour later found him standing in the middle of a large green meadow full of wild flowers, which stretched out as far as the eye could see. With a happy smile on his face he launched himself up into the bright, multicoloured sky and headed toward the area where the dead resided while enjoying their lifetime of bliss before being reborn into new bodies.

He landed outside an adorable little cottage with well kept gardens full of brightly coloured flowers surrounding the property on all sides. He smiled at the house as he reached up to knock on the red wood door. This is just the kind of house he'd always imagined her living in too.

The door opened and Toshiko's bright, brown eyes looked up at him. "Ianto, it's so lovely to see you," she greeted him cheerily, reaching up for a hug.

He hugged her back and greeted her in kind.

"So what brings you by today?" She asked.

Ianto looked at her sadly for a minute before replying. "I'm leaving, Toshiko, and I'm not coming back."

--

Captain Jack stepped out of the TARDIS and looked around at the planet he was now standing on. The doctor said it was called Larimilus, and that apparently the locals were all very friendly and welcoming to visitors. The man in question stepped out of the TARDIS behind him and pulled the door closed.

"All right then let's go," He decreed and together they headed down the hill towards the town.

They hadn't set more than a foot inside the town before the Doctor reached out a hand to stop him.

"It's too quiet," the man replied when Jack asked him what was wrong. "The locals aren't usually this quiet, particularly when they're meeting new people."

Jack watched the locals hurrying about the village, their heads down, quiet as church mice. He turned to the Doctor then with a raised eyebrow. "I get the feeling that something's not quite right here."

"And you would be right." The man in the blue suit replied still watching the passers by with curiosity.

They only stood there for a moment longer before the Doctor lead Jack further into the city towards what appeared to be a local pub. Jack watched him walk up to the bar and introduce himself to the bar attendant.

"Hello there I'm the Doctor and this is Captain Jack Harkness, how are you on this fine day?"

Jack saw a slightly wary look fill the man's eyes before he replied.

"I'm fine thank you sir, how are you?"

"I'm just great thank you. We'll have two of your house specials thanks." The man quickly complied and as soon as the drinks were in the Doctor's hands he disappeared out the back.

The doctor turned to look at Jack and frowned. "That was a bit odd wasn't it?"

Jack nodded in agreement. "I guess he's heard of you. But that's not the reaction people usually have when they hear your name."

"No it's not." The Doctor agreed thoughtfully.

They chose a table and sat down neither of them bothering to try their drinks.

"When was the last time you were here?" Jack asked.

"Oh, a few years now. But it's nothing like it was then, something's definitely happened," he replied.

"Do you think we should wander around the town, try and figure out what it is?" Jack asked.

"I don't know I'm starting to get the feeling that we shouldn't be here."

"Should we leave?" Jack asked.

"Maybe, I don't know. I hate the idea of leaving here without finding out what's wrong but the feeling that we should leave this place has been getting stronger ever since we set foot in this town."

"Well, what do you want to do? Should we head back to the TARDIS and see if we can run a scan, maybe find out what's happened?"

The Doctor gave him a considering look before nodding. "We'll leave as quietly as we can, try not to draw any attention to ourselves."

"I doubt we'll have a problem with that. In order for us to draw any attention to ourselves people would actually have to be looking at us." Jack motioned to the people walking past the pub with their heads down.

They slipped out of the town and headed back up the hill toward the TARDIS. They were about ten metres away from their destination when a large bolt of energy flew between them singeing the ends off their hair. They turned to see who was shooting at them and Jack had only moments to register the bolt that was heading right for the Doctor. He dove on front of the man taking the hit directly in the chest. There was a moment of searing pain and then, nothing.

--

With all of his goodbyes over and done with Ianto headed back to his room in the student's halls to pack up his things. There wasn't much and it took him only a few minutes to get everything neatly folded and stored in the small bag he'd purchased, along with some new shoes at the spirit's mall in the centre of town.

He chuckled at the thought of heaven having a town, or a shopping mall for that fact. How many people would laugh at him if he told them that Heaven was a lot like earth when it came to how they lived and what they did for entertainment? Of course when it came to movies up here they didn't need people to make up storylines they just turned on one of the viewers and watched what the other species in the universe were doing and that usually provided enough entertainment for anyone.

Smiling to himself he activated the charm on the bag and it immediately shrank down until it was barely the size of a watch. He buckled it to his wrist and pulled on the suit he'd left out to wear. Black tailored pants, crimson, long sleeved, button up shirt, black belt. He didn't put on a tie or anything else yet, just his shoes which were always perfectly shined (it is heaven after all), and a jacket.

The armour could thankfully move, twist, shrink, bend and shape anyway he wanted it to so he pulled it down away from his neck and shaped it to fit around his chest and over his shoulders. He left the top two buttons of his shirt undone and didn't bother buttoning up the jacket. Once he was happy with his appearance he turned toward the viewer in his room and reached up to flick it on.

A strange tingling feeling suddenly filled his head and before he had time to wonder what it was a vision flashed up in front of his eyes of Jack taking a death bolt to the chest. Ianto felt tears burn at his eyes as he realized that the tingling he felt was Jack dying…again. "Oh god, no." The words left his mouth before he was even conscious of saying them. "Jack."

He scrambled over to the viewer and threw the switch. "Show me Captain Jack Harkness and the Doctor," he demanded. The screen flashed a few times before Jack's now dead form appeared in the centre. Ianto watched helplessly as the Doctor leant down to lift the man into his arms. Suddenly the edges of the screen began to glow red and Ianto recognised it as the screen's way of warning the viewer of something. Of course it had no way of knowing that Jack wasn't going to stay dead but it was a bit late to warn him of that now so what did it want?

"What is the reason for this warning?" He asked the screen. Another flash of light and the name of the planet the Doctor and Jack were on flashed up on the screen. Ianto's eyes grew wide and for the second time that day the words left his mouth before he realized they were there. "Oh god, no. Jack, what are you doing there?"

end of chapter 1

So what did you think?? This is my first Torchwood story so be gentle. Please Review


	2. Rescue Missions are Complicated

Hey look another chapter already!! That's big for me, I guess Ianto's death has effected me far more than is normal for a human and a story character but who cares Ianto was awesome. So here's the next chapter thank you for those of you who reviewed it's very much appreciated and please everyone REVIEW!!! I need to know if you like the story pretty please. Anyway without further ado here's the next chapter sorry if some of the punctuation isn't great I proof read this story at 2am this morning.

I don't own Torchwood unfortunately

Chapter 2: Rescue Missions are Complicated

Life returned to Jack as it always did and he awoke gasping. It didn't take him long to remember where he was and why he was dead…again. Even if he hadn't been able to feel the pain that was throbbing through his chest from the metal discs that were still attached to him, waiting for the next round of torture to be delivered. The man sitting in the chair directly in front him, watching him intently through narrowed eyes was reminder enough.

Two days ago he and the Doctor had arrived on this planet and realized that something was wrong. That something was this man. Apparently he was dead. The Doctor, as he had been told, had ruined one of his schemes at some point, and when he refused to surrender at the end of it all he had been killed by his own people.

Of course he'd somehow managed to find his way back to the living realm and had been lording over the people of this planet ever since, hoping to run into the Doctor and have his revenge. That time, apparently, was now. He hadn't hurt the Doctor physically, not yet. After Jack had been shot and miraculously came back to life he'd realized that hurting the doctor himself might have been fun, but not as much fun as chaining him to the wall and making him watch as Jack was slowly tortured to death over and over.

The Doctor, while he may seem full of his own brilliance, cared more about the people who travelled with him than he did himself. This discovery had been made by their current captor after only a few moments with them and now he was using his discovery to his advantage.

The Doctor knew that was what he was doing. He knew that the man wanted to see him suffer, but try as he might, he couldn't keep himself from reacting to Jack's pain. If he didn't stop, the man would never grow tired of it and Jack would be tortured to death over and over until either the Doctor died or their captor found someone else the Doctor cared about to torture.

Jack hung on the wall across from the Doctor and glared down at their captor. He knew how much his pain must be hurting the Doctor but at least the man himself was unharmed. The longer Jack could keep the Doctor out of physical danger the more likely it was that either someone would get there to rescue the time lord or he'd find a way out himself.

Jack had to keep going, he knew he did, because no matter what the Doctor thought, his existence was far more important that Jack's. The universe needed the Doctor, Jack was expendable, and even if that hadn't been true in Jack's eyes he still would have allowed himself to suffer in the Doctor's place because he deserved it. He'd done so many things in his life that he regretted and while he'd suffered plenty already, he didn't feel like it was enough to make up for his crimes.

He looked across the room at the Doctor, whose tear-filled eyes looked back at him, full of apologies and regrets. Jack gave him a reassuring smile before turning back to look at his captor once more.

"Is that the best you've got?" He asked mockingly.

The man's eyes turned murderous at the insult and he pushed a button on the arm of his chair.

Jack's scream of pain filled up the room once more, in chorus with the Doctor's shouts of protest. Jack heard his voice die just seconds before the darkness descended.

--

Ianto landed softly on the surface of the planet and looked around himself warily. He knew he'd hidden his energy signature well but just on the off chance that Cessilus could see through his shield he sent out a mental probe, searching for any sign of activity to suggest that his arrival had been noticed.

Sensing nothing he cast his senses out in search of the castle. He found it almost immediately. Cessilus' energy signature shone like a beacon from the tower in the centre. He directed his mental search inside the tower to see if Jack was being held there and just as he did the man's pain hit him like the lash of a whip.

He had to bite his tongue to keep from crying out as the pain ripped through his mind. Not just Jack's physical pain but the emotional anguish he'd been living with this past year as well. He fell to his knees holding his head in his hands. He knew he could withdraw from Jack's mind in a second but he didn't. As long as he remained connected to it, even from this distance, he could absorb some of the man's pain. And from what he could feel right now Jack really needed that help.

He felt Jack's death in his mind as he had done on the first day and the pain stopped. He took several deep breaths to calm himself before getting shakily to his feet and scanning the skies above him. Nothing up there, perfect. He made sure his shields were still intact and took to the sky. Anger burned through him hot and strong, wiping away the shaky feeling and leaving a sense of calm in its place.

He could have been on this planet seconds after seeing that Jack needed his help, but he'd had to prepare for the battle that was swiftly approaching. Cessilus was no normal man. He was the antithesis of Ianto's position in the holy kingdom and that made him dangerous, not only to the Doctor and Jack but also to Ianto himself.

There were special spells that one needed to fight against a creature like Cessilus. Ianto couldn't just use his normal attacks because Cessilus could just deflect them with his own. He'd had to prepare the weapons carefully and it had taken time and a lot of skill and cunning to keep him from being noticed by the elders.

He'd known that without them, winning the battle against Cessilus would be a lot more difficult and it was possible that the Doctor or Jack could be harmed in the process. So he'd taken his time, he'd done what was necessary, all the while ignoring the buzzing that gnawed at his brain every time Jack died. Now he was here, he could feel Jack's pain and he was so furious, that the weapons he'd taken all the time to prepare may not be necessary after all.

Anger and hatred were living things inside him. Crawling through his mind and singing through his blood, as if they had a mind of their own. His Jack, his precious Jack. How dare that creature touch him!!! As he got closer to the palace some of his common sense won out and he dropped from the sky before any of the guards had a chance to see him.

He then proceeded to flit swiftly through the palace's grounds immobilising every guard he came across. He could have killed them, he certainly had the power. But every charm he used was one more possibility that Cessilus would detect him and if he put his guards on alert it would take even more time to get past them.

Once he'd taken care of all the men outside, he locked them up together in a shed he found near the edge of the grounds and headed into the castle. Just as he began to walk down the corridor he felt Jack revive. Two guards later and the pain started again. Ianto slipped into a room and closed the door.

The last time he was in Jack's mind the pain had taken him by surprise, this time he was ready. He used the link between them to swoop down into Jack's brain and twig the right pathways, just a little. He felt the result he'd wanted to achieve become a reality almost immediately and with a satisfied smirk he slipped back out into the corridor.

--

The Doctor watched horrified as Jack's screams of pain once again filled the room. He wanted this to stop, he couldn't stand it anymore. He'd tried to keep his face neutral but for some reason he couldn't. It was almost as if something was blocking his ability to control his feelings.

Jack's screams suddenly ceased and even though the Doctor wished he hadn't noticed, he realized almost immediately that this time had ended a lot quicker than the last few. He looked over at their captor wondering if he'd noticed as well.

The man in question stood up from his chair and walked over to study the captain. "What happened?" He demanded.

A man ran over from the corner of the room and the Doctor recognised him immediately as the man who'd stabbed Jack with a needle the first time their captor had decided to start torturing him. They'd mentioned something about the drug keeping Jack from being able to pass out. Is that what had happened?

The Doctor watched intently as the man studied Jack. He reached up to feel Jack's neck for a pulse and immediately jumped back.

"He's alive," the man reported. "It looks like he's just passed out."

"And how is that possible with the drugs you gave him?" Their captor demanded.

The man shook his head. "I don't know Master, it should have worked I swear to you. Perhaps it's his differences," He suggested

Their captor stalked over to the Doctor and stopped just inches from his face. "Why didn't the drug work?" He demanded.

"I don't know," the Doctor replied.

"How can you not know, you know everything?!" Their captor roared.

"Not this I don't," the Doctor replied once more.

"You're lying Doctor," their captor growled.

"No I'm not. I honestly don't know."

Their Captor glared at him for a few more moments before turning his attention back to the very terrified looking man who was now scanning Jack with some kind of device. "Find a way to fix it," he demanded, stalking back over to his chair.

After a few minutes he stood up once more, pulling a large, frightening looking knife from t sheath set into his chair. He stalked over to the frightened man and held it up to his throat. "Why haven't you fixed it yet?!" He roared

The man shook as he replied. "I'm trying Master; I still can't see what happened."

A strange, metallic, rolling noise drew their attention to the door way and they had a moment to register that something was stopping at their feet before a bright flash of light filled the room.

--

Ianto waited a moment for the light to die down before he ran into the room and took in the scene. The specially designed flash bomb had worked just as he'd planned; Cessilus was lying unconscious on the floor along with his guards and some other poor sod that looked like he'd been very badly treated over the time.

He ran immediately over to the Doctor and used a blast of his energy to break the chains that were holding the young time lord to the wall. He caught the Doctor before he could hit the floor and carried him over to where Jack was. He lowered him to the floor and freed Jack, catching him, as he had done with the Doctor, before he hit the floor. He knew he had to hurry, any minute now Cessilus was going to recover and Jack and the Doctor had to be gone by then or neither of them would survive what was coming.

Ignoring the need for urgency just for a moment he ran his fingers gently over Jack's face, knowing that this may be the last time he'd ever get the chance to do so. Leaning down he pressed his lips gently to Jack's, savouring the way they felt against his. He'd missed that so much this past year. dragging his lips away from Jacks he dropped down lower to whisper into his ear. "I love you, don't ever forget that. I love you with everything I am, my captain. I will be with you always"

A groan from the Doctor drew his attention away from his beloved and brought him back to the present and the required urgency. He reached across and pulled the young time lord into his arms. "Doctor, Doctor I need you to open your eyes." He called, gently shaking the other man.

He saw the man's eyes opening and he called to him again quietly. "Doctor, open your eyes, look at me." At last he saw the man's eyes open fully and he saw the surprise that filled them as the Doctor recognised who he was.

"Ianto Jones...what-" He began to ask.

Ianto cut him off. "Look, I don't have time to explain. Cessilus is going to wake up any second and I need to get you and Jack out of here before he does."

He saw the moment that the Doctor remembered where he was, and he somehow, immediately managed to shake off his fatigue and spring into action. Together they Pulled Jack up onto his feet. He groaned as they threw his arms over their shoulders and Ianto knew he'd wake up soon. He had to get them away before Jack woke up otherwise he wouldn't leave. They turned to head for the door only to find a fully awake Cessilus already waiting for them.

"And just where do you think you're going?" He demanded.

Ianto gave all of Jack's weight to the Doctor -immensely happy that the young time lord was a lot stronger than he looked- and stood in front of the pair.

"You can't have them Cessilus, they're coming with me," Ianto replied.

"Well we'll just see about that, won't we little guardian?" Cessilus replied reaching across to pull a very large, glowing sword from his belt.

Ianto took another step toward the man, pulling a long, metallic staff with razor sharp blades set into either end from its holster on his back. As he moved slowly forward he sent a message, telepathically to the Doctor.

"**As soon as you can, run for the exit. Get to the TARDIS and get away from here. If I manage to destroy him the shockwave will be massive; so you need to get as far away from here as you can.**"

"**What about you?**" He heard the Doctor's reply in his mind.

"**Don't worry about me. Just get yourself and Jack away from here, promise me you will**." Ianto all but begged.

"**I promise,**" the Doctor replied.

A feeling of relief washed over Ianto at the sound of those words. At least, no matter what happened, his beloved Jack would be safe. "**All right, be ready to run.**" He felt the Doctor's acknowledgement and moved closer to his target.

"What is your name little guardian?" Cessilus asked.

"Ianto Jones." Ianto replied.

"And tell me, Ianto Jones, why are you so eager to rescue my prisoners?"

Ianto's eyes narrowed. "What does that matter?" He asked

"It matters because your answer will tell me how much of a fight you're going to give me before I blow you into atoms. If it's merely a case of helping the people of this planet or rescuing a legend then I'll know that your hearts not really in this and the fight will be quick and disappointing. If however there's another reason, say, a friendship, or family tie, I'll know that you will fight with everything in you to save them and that, Mr Jones, would absolutely make my day."

"I'm not interested in making your day you miserable beast and why I'm here is none of your concern. I will win, and you will spend the rest of eternity floating around the cosmos in bits."

Cessilus laughed. "Oh goody, you are going to give me a fight."

For a moment everything was silent and still. A moment later the battle began.

--

The Doctor watched the men move around the room in a violent, graceful dance. He waited for his moment to escape and tried to ignore the nagging feeling of annoyance at the fact that he had to escape at all. He didn't want to run away. He wanted to stand and fight, he wanted to help destroy the blood thirsty creature he'd helped create.

But it wasn't just his life at stake here. He had to think about Jack, and even though he knew Jack would eventually recover from anything that happened to him and even though he knew Jack would be furious with him for leaving Ianto behind to face the monster alone he'd promised Ianto Jones that he would get Jack out and he would keep that promise because even though he didn't know the kid all that well, he understood why Ianto was asking.

Not only did the Doctor know that the young man loved Jack to bits. He also knew from his own experience that it was a lot easier to defeat an enemy when you had nothing else to worry about. As long as he knew that Jack would be safe, Ianto would be free to focus his full attention on defeating Cessilus, and from what the Doctor could see, he needed his full attention.

Suddenly, Ianto managed to get Cessilus away from the door and the Doctor got a tight grip on Jack and ran towards it. A few feet away the Doctor heard a sizzle of power and a loud thump indicating that one of the fighters had hit something, hard. He didn't dare turn around he just kept running for the door until he felt something wrap around his waist and throw him across the room.

He landed hard against a wall, hitting his head as he did so. Groaning as pain pulsed through the back of his skull; he looked up to see Cessilus approaching and manoeuvred himself so he was between the monster and Jack.

Cessilus laughed as a ball of bright red energy appeared between his palms. He stopped just a few feet from the Doctor and held out his hands. "Do you have any last words time lord?" He asked.

"Did you kill Ianto?" The Doctor asked, looking over at Ianto's unmoving form.

Cessilus laughed. "No, he's an angel; he can't get any deader that he already is. I can however scatter him into atoms, and I will, as soon as I'm done with you."

"Then I only have one thing to say to you, Cessilus. Whatever unholy creature you pray to I'd start praying. Because he was human before he died, and they have a knack for making even the impossible happen."

Cessilus smiled down at the Doctor, the ball of energy glowing brighter in his hands. "Thanks for the advice Doctor, I'll remember that."

The Doctor saw the energy leave his hands and at the same time, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ianto getting to his feet. Oh well, at least he managed to buy the young guardian some time to recover. He saw the red ball get closer and couldn't help but smile at the thought of Cessilus' face just before Ianto blew him up. Ah yes, that was a pleasant thought.

The ball was only inches away now; he watched it getting closer as if it was in slow motion. It got closer and closer and then…

Bright white light suddenly filled the chamber and Cessilus' angry roar touched his ears. Out of the light two figures appeared and the Doctor's eyes widened in surprise as they turned to face him and he recognised who they were.

end of chapter 2

There we go how are we liking it??? Did we like Ianto breaking into the castle??? Let me know please.

Kayla


	3. Intervention

Okay here's the next chapter. Before you read I appologise in advance if this in't the best chapter of my story. I reread it so many times over and over. I'm not quite happy with it but try as I might I can't find a way to make myself happy with it so sorry if you don't like it!! I could have held off a little longer but I really wanted to continue with the story so here it is. Thank you so much to all of you who reviewed they're so lovely to read and they make me want to kep writing. Sorry I don't have any personal replies up here I'll do some with the nexy chapter promise. Anyway here we go please review.

Chapter 3 Intervention

The figures shimmered to life in front of the Doctor's eyes and as they turned around to look at him he couldn't believe his eyes. He'd only ever seen images of these two he'd never met them in person, but he would have recognised them anywhere, especially when they reached down to pull himself and Jack up off the floor. The tenderness in the young woman's face as she looked down at the Captain was unmistakable, they were definitely friends.

The young man helped the Doctor up off the floor and made sure he was all right to walk before he helped the young woman lift Jack to his feet. Together they carried the Captain toward the door only stopping when a loud voice bellowed behind them.

They all turned to see Cessilus stalking through the light toward them. The Doctor watched as the two young people lifted their free hand up in front of them and he saw a white shield of power snap up around them all.

Cessilus stopped an inch from their shield and growled at them. "What are you doing here little angels? You're not even guardians, how is it that you can block my attacks?"

"We're special." The young man replied in a cocky tone.

"Are you now?" Cessilus demanded. "Well, perhaps we'll see just how special you are."

--

A loud noise behind him pulled Jack's consciousness from its nice, dark, quiet resting place. What had happened? He hadn't died, had he passed out or something? He wasn't really sure of anything except that reality was slowly creeping back to him and he suddenly realized that his body was being thrown across the room. He didn't feel himself land though.

Somewhere nearby he heard voices talking but they were muffled and he couldn't understand what they were saying. He fought against the unconsciousness, trying to work out what was going on and it was then that a bright, white light filled his vision. Even with his eyes still closed he could see it but he had no idea what it could be.

Was there an explosion? He hadn't felt the ground shake at all.

The next thing he knew he was being lifted up and he could feel his body moving. The movement stopped as suddenly as it had begun and he heard voices talking once again. What were they saying? He had to know. He pushed at the edges of his unconsciousness until at last he managed to force his eyes open. He recognised Cessilus immediately, standing in front of him talking to whoever it was that was holding Jack up. Was it the Doctor? Was he okay?

The person to his right began to speak and he recognised that voice immediately.

"We're special."

The cockiness and the accent were completely unchanged but Jack turned his head to look at the man who was holding up one side of his body barely daring to hope. He felt a surge of happiness when a face he'd once known well came into his line of site and if he'd had the strength he would have hugged the man.

He heard Cessilus speak again, although he wasn't listening to what the monster was saying. He fought and fought to regain his strength and at last, words managed to make their way out of Jack's mouth. "Owen," he said quietly.

All present stopped what they were doing and turned to look at him.

"Ah, look at that my toy's awake, oh how lovely," Cessilus greeted him with a little too much enthusiasm.

"And just in time too, I'm about to rid of us of some annoyances." He held his hand out and another glowing ball of energy flashed into life between his palms.

"Ah, I wouldn't be so sure of that," Owen replied.

"And why not little angel?" Cessilus asked. "What are you doing to do to me?"

"Oh I didn't say anything about me. The one rule in battle you should always remember is never turn your back on an enemy." No sooner were the words out of Owen's mouth when a loud crunching noise echoed through the room and a large pointed staff was suddenly protruding from Cessilus' chest. The man in question howled in pain before turning around to look at his attacker.

That was when Jack saw him. His Ianto, his beautiful Ianto standing not five metres from him, a ball of crackling, forest green energy in his hands, his beautiful eyes glowing the very same colour. His clothes were all but gone leaving him covered only by his lovely, form fitting armour, a large gash dominated the front of his chest, glowing with that same forest green light and his magnificent, forest green wings floated majestically behind him. He looked wonderful, beautiful and terrifying all at the same time, and in the end, all of this accounted to absolutely nothing in Jack's mind because all he could see was Ianto.

Tears filled his eyes within seconds and before he knew it they were flowing freely down his face. "Ianto," he said the man's name shakily, but Ianto's attention was all focused on Cessilus. Jack saw him hurl the ball of energy at the monster and he flew across the room, landing in a heap against the far, back wall.

Ianto's eyes turned to the group then and he shouted. "Run, all of you run, now!"

Jack felt himself being pulled away from Ianto and before he knew what he was doing he was fighting the arms that held him; struggling to get to the beautiful man. "No, Ianto no!" He heard his voice scream as he fought to free himself. "No, I'm not leaving, Ianto! Ianto, no, Ianto!!" He was too weak to put up much of a fight but he resisted all the way out of the room.

Just as they reached the doorway Ianto's glowing, green eyes gaze met Jack's. "I love you, my captain." He heard Ianto's lovely voice in his mind. "I will always love you."

Jack thought for a second that he saw tears fall from Ianto's eyes, but all too soon he was dragged from the room and away from the other man. Pain stunned Jack into silence and for a while he was completely lost in his own grief. Ianto had been in that room right in front of him. He'd saved them, but what was he doing there? What was he? He died didn't he? Even if he hadn't Cessilus was a maniac, there was no way Ianto could stand up to that was there? Too many questions, not enough answers but the main thought in front of them all was that they'd left Ianto behind to die.

Before he realized what was happening they were at the TARDIS and he was being hauled inside. The Doctor immediately ran to the controls and started pressing things. In that moment Jack came back to himself and with a surge of strength he pulled out of Owen's grip and ran toward the door.

Several sets of arms wrapped around him stopping him in place before he could reach the door and he shouted and screamed for them to let him go. Why weren't they going back to help Ianto? Why were the just leaving him here to die?

He felt the TARDIS roar to life and the next thing he knew they were moving. Knowing it was pointless now Jack stopped resisting and fell to the floor, his tears getting the better of him. He felt one of the pairs of arms wrap around him in a comforting embrace and even if Owen's appearance hadn't already given it away he would have recognised Tosh immediately as his other rescuer. Somehow she still smelt the same.

He let her hold him for another few minutes before he calmed down enough to ask. "What's going on? How are you here?"

Tosh looked down at him sadly. "We saw that, Ianto was here trying to save you and the Doctor so we came to help."

"Yeah, even though it's against the rules and we're probably going to be punished severely when we get back." Owen threw in from his spot over next to the Doctor.

"Back to where?" Jack asked. "Where have you been? I thought you were –

"Dead," Owen interrupted. "Yeah we are. It seems there's more out there than any of us ever thought. We live up there, the Eternal Kingdom they call it. They even have a shopping mall and something very much resembling a really big pub."

"So what? You're –

"Angels," Tosh Replied this time. "Well, at least for the moment we are."

"And what about Ianto? That was him back there wasn't it?"

Tosh looked down and nodded. "Yeah, Jack it was. He's an angel too just not one like us."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked.

"He's a guardian." Owen replied still looking over the Doctor's shoulder. "Think of him as the combat version of us. The guardians give up their lifetime of happiness and the continuation of their soul's journey to serve the Eternal Kingdom. Basically it means that he's never going to be reincarnated like most of the dead are eventually. He'll stay good old Ianto for the rest of eternity, well he would have if he hadn't…well…even if he survives the fight against Cessilus he'll be punished for disobeying the rules." Owen looked sadly in the direction of his former boss.

"What rules?" Jack asked trying not to think about the first part of Owen's last sentence.

"There are rules about when the guardians are allowed to enter the mortal realm and what exactly they're allowed to do while they're there. Interference in the mortal realm without permission is…well…very bad." Toshiko explained. "He'll be in a lot of trouble when the highers-up find out about him being here, even though Cessilus isn't mortal and therefore should have been dealt with already."

"You know, Tosh I think the elders probably agree with you." Owen said suddenly deep in thought.

"What do you mean?" Tosh asked.

Owen looked over at the Captain in sympathy before replying. "I recon if you were a fly on Cessilus' wall right now you'd find that if Ianto wins the fight, he'll 'just manage' to defeat Cessilus before they come and drag him back to the eternal kingdom."

"What are you saying Owen?" Jack asked, not liking where this was going.

"Cessilus has been a problem ever since he appeared back in the mortal realm. He took over those people and turned them into slaves but that was only the beginning. He's a bad, bad man Jack, as I'm sure you would agree and with the power he possesses there's no way he would have been classified as a member of the mortal realm. However, the elders haven't done anything about him yet, they've been using the fact that he's situated on a mortal planet full of people to avoid having to deal with him. Now along comes, you the Doctor, you guys get taken hostage and hurt and of course Ianto isn't just going to sit back and let it happen."

"So you're saying that they're going to use him to get rid of Cessilus and then come and take him back for trial as a criminal even though he's doing exactly what they want?" Tosh asked horrified.

"Well think about it, Tosh. We knew he was gone almost immediately after he left and it took us less than ten minutes to work out where he went. You can't tell me the elders wouldn't know he's there too, there's no way they wouldn't be keeping an eye on their newest Prodigy."

"Oh god," Tosh gasped, tears gathering in her soft brown eyes.

"Are you saying that they're setting him up?" Jack asked his blue eyes as tear filled as Tosh's.

Owen shook his head. "I don't know, Jack but it sure looks like it to me."

"So what are they going to do to him?" Jack asked, terrified of what the answer might be.

"They'll drag him before the court of elders and he'll be punished. There's no way they'll let him get away with breaking their precious rules, even if it was of benefit to them." Owen replied.

"It's a win, win situation for them. Not only do they rid themselves of an enemy they also have someone to use as an example to others who might think about breaking the rules." The Doctor spoke for the first time since they'd reached the TARDIS.

Jack just stared at the Doctor for a moment before he asked. "Why did you run away? Why didn't you help him?"

The look of pain on the Doctor's face told Jack how much it had hurt the time lord to have to leave but he couldn't bring himself to care. "You're the Doctor, you're the high and mighty time lord who's always there to help any stranger who crosses your path and yet you can't be bothered to help someone who you know means more to me than anything in this universe. Have I been wrong all this time in thinking that we're friends, did you just bring me along on this little adventure with you so you could find ways to hurt me?"

"No, Jack I'm not trying to hurt you, and you know we're friends, you know you matter to me."

"Do I?" Jack asked torn between his pain and his anger. "You just ran off and left me the moment Rose made me like I am. You knew I wouldn't know what had happened, you knew I'd struggle to come to terms with what I was and you didn't care. Your companion and your TARDIS did this to me, I didn't ask to be immortal and you, the high and mighty time lord, just got in your little blue box and fucked off, you didn't care what happened to me. So you'll excuse me, Doctor, if I'm a little doubting of your sincerity about being my friend."

Jack felt Toshiko's arms tighten around him; he'd completely forgotten she was still there holding him. For the first time since he's seen her again he wrapped his arms around her in return. Seeing her and Owen again was the only bright point of this horrible year.

He heard footsteps coming toward him and the next thing he knew the Doctor was kneeling down in front of him.

"I'm not doing any of this to hurt you, Jack. I know I left you behind that time and I am truly sorry, you know I am but I didn't just leave Ianto behind I left because he asked me to. When he saved us from Cessilus he asked me to do just one thing and that was to make sure you got out. I didn't want to leave I wanted to stay and help but, Jack, there was nothing I could have done. Cessilus wasn't a living man who was disgruntled or unhappy he was a vengeful, angry demon and the only being capable of defeating a creature like him is one like Ianto, a guardian."

"He's right, Jack," Toshiko spoke softly to him. "Only guardians are strong enough to beat demons like Cessilus. We could have stayed and tried to help but we would have just ended up getting in the way. Ianto needed us to be gone before he could use the weapon he made to disintegrate Cessilus. If we'd been in the room when it went off we'd all have spent eternity floating around the universe in atoms"

"But what if he doesn't beat Cessilus?" Jack demanded. "What if it's Cessilus that destroys him? If Ianto's going to be spending eternity floating around the universe in atoms then I should be there with him. I couldn't die with him like I wanted to I... Jack trailed off for a moment not sure how to say what he was saying. "It's not right that he should have to be alone for eternity, he doesn't deserve that."

"No he doesn't" They all turned to see Allira standing near the centre of the TARDIS scowling at Jack. "You had better be worth all of this, Captain Jack Harkness because if I find out that my boy is being punished for saving someone who doesn't deserve his loyalty I will find a way to kill you and it won't be quick."

"Punished, does that mean…?" Tosh trailed off looking at Allira hopefully.

"He defeated Cessilus," Allira confirmed. "The weapon he made did its job perfectly; Cessilus will be spending the rest of eternity floating around in a jar in the eternal prison under guard."

"Where is Ianto?" Jack asked. "Is he all right, is he hurt?"

Allira looked at him thoughtfully for a few moments before replying. "The elders have arrested him; he's been taken up to the council to await trial."

Jack felt the pieces of his heart shatter even further as the words left her mouth. He could tell by the way she said it and the look on her face that Ianto's future was not looking good. He heard Tosh whispering 'oh god' under her breath before the tears started again. Jack closed his eyes and tightened his grip on his former computer whiz feeling his own tears sliding down his face. He knew he didn't want to hear the answer, he knew that whatever Allira said it was going to hurt but he had to ask, he had to know.

"What are they going to do to him?" He asked.

Allira looked away for a moment and Jack could see the tears she was trying to keep at bay sparkling in her eyes. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes before replying. "They're going to suspend his ability to take human form or use his power then they're going to lock him away in the eternal prison. He'll spend eternity trapped in a lifeless form, unable to do anything except watch the universe as it slowly dies one star at a time. And when it's all over and all the stars are gone he'll be trapped in the darkness and the cold and the worst part of it all, is that his only company will be Cessilus."

the end of chaper 3

There we go what do we think? Is there anything that you didn't get or any parts you particularly didn't like?? If there is let me know and again I'm sory if it's not my best work Please review pretty please

Kayla


	4. Eternity is a Really Long Time

Here I am another chapter for all you lovely people out there who are waiting. IMPORTANT!!! This chapter is dedicated to Consider-Yourself-Poned, LoubiiLUST, Marsali4, darkknight25276, Mistress Mina, Ritnou and Socalrose. For all of your wonderful reviews this chapter goes to you. The next chapter will be dedicated to the people who review this one. It honestly does make me want to write more when you review so keep it up please!!!! So here we go chapter 4 I hope you like. Sorry if there's any grammar issues I wanted to get this chapter out today.

Chapter 4 Eternity is a Really Long Time

For the second time in the space of a few days Ianto stood before the council of elders waiting for them to speak. He allowed himself a grin as he thought back to the look on Cessilus' face just before Ianto had blown him up. Priceless didn't begin to describe it. His thoughts turned to Jack then and the grin died on his lips. His poor Captain, hurt, bleeding, suffering and then when he woke up and saw Ianto…The pain in his eyes had been unmistakable.

For the most part Ianto's attention had been focused on Cessilus; making sure the monster didn't get up while the others were trying to escape. Right at the end however he'd had to turn away, he couldn't let the others go without one last look at the man he loved and would most likely never see again. There was so much he'd wanted to say to Jack, so many things he wanted to tell the other man but there was no time. So he'd said the only thing that really mattered. He loved Jack and he always would, even when the universe came to an end and all the stars were gone he would still love the man more than anything and anyone ever to exist.

He looked around the room at the men and women who were about to decide his fate and felt cold, burning hatred for every single one of them. They'd done this on purpose and he knew it. They'd let him kill Cessilus so he was out of their way and then they'd arrested him and dragged him back here to face trial, so soon after the battle was over that he hadn't even had time to heal his injuries.

Now there they were discussing his 'crimes' at length and he knew already what they were going to say. Really, he didn't care about being punished, he knew it was coming the moment he made the decision to leave the Eternal Kingdom and go looking for his captain. What made him mad was the fact that he knew Jack was going to blame himself for what happened to Ianto, just like he blamed himself for Tosh, Owen, Suzie and everyone else who ever died anywhere in his general vicinity.

Jack didn't deserve to hurt like that; he shouldn't have to shoulder the blame for everything that had happened in his lifetime. He'd never been able to accept that people were capable of making their own decisions and Torchwood staff was no exception. The people who joined Torchwood always had a choice; no one made them do their job. Why couldn't Jack ever see the good things he'd done for those that surrounded him?

He'd saved Tosh and shown her the wonders of the universe, she'd said so herself on the goodbye movie she'd made for them all. He'd given both Ianto and Owen something to live for after losing everything that mattered to them. He'd accepted Ianto back after everything that happened with Lisa, he'd brought Owen back to life because he didn't want him to be in the darkness. As for Gwen, they all knew she'd never loved her other job like she loved working for Torchwood. And as previously stated if she didn't, nobody made her join up. She'd come looking for them and accepted the job she now had. Suzie, well what happened to her she did to herself and that was nobody else's fault.

Ianto wanted nothing more than to find Jack and shake some sense into the man before he was committed to spend eternity in the prison. Jack needed to know that none of it was his fault, particularly what was happening to Ianto now and it hurt him a lot that he wouldn't get the chance.

Blinking back the tears that were now threatening to expose his pain to the elders, he sighed quietly to himself and continued to wait in silence.

It was another ten minutes before the head elder stood up and addressed the congregation.

"Mr Ianto Jones, you have been charged with disobeying the rules of the heavenly order. In the course of which you attacked and vaporised a man named Cessilus and disturbed the mortals that resided on the planet he was ruling. The punishment for these crimes is eternal imprisonment within a nonliving life form. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Normally Ianto wasn't the kind to go out of his way to make matters worse for himself or for anyone else for that matter. Right now however, he was so angry and upset about what Jack must have been through and what he must now be going through that he couldn't contain his anger. Casting a defiant look up at the elders Ianto spoke.

"Yes, well actually I'd like to ask a question."

The head elder nodded. "You may ask Mr Jones."

"Why?"

The elder looked at him in confusion. "Why what, Mr Jones?"

"Why do you go to all the trouble of training us, teaching us and making us strong, if you won't let us use our power to help people? Why are beings like me created if not to help those who cannot help themselves? I chose to become a guardian so I could protect people, so I could make a difference. I gave up my right to live out a life of bliss, I gave up my next incarnation and all that would have followed because I thought it was the right thing to do. I think if you asked the other guardians most of them would tell you the same thing, they did it to help people, but if you asked them how many people they'd actually been allowed to help I almost guarantee that the numbers would be very low indeed. So tell me, great elders, if we're supposed to be guardians as our title says then why are we punished for doing what comes naturally to us?"

"You are not being punished for helping people, Mr Jones. You are being punished for breaking the number one rule of our kingdom and that is that we don't interfere in the mortal realm unless it's absolutely necessary. You know this." The Elder argued.

"Cessilus was already interfering in the mortal realm. He was an evil, sadistic demon who enslaved those people so he could use them for his own sick purposes. I only did what should have been done the moment he zapped himself back into existence I put a stop to his sick game and freed those people. I stopped a demon from hurting a whole lot of mortals and I'm sorry, but I think I did exactly what I should have done. If we're not going to protect the living from the demons then who is?"

The Elder shook his head at Ianto. "Don't try and take the high ground on this, Mr Jones. We all know why you went after Cessilus and it had nothing to do with helping those people. You went to save Captain Harkness and the Doctor."

Ianto studied the man for a moment, standing up on his pedestal with his head held high thinking he was something special. Ianto hated him. "And what exactly would be wrong with that?" He asked. The elders all turned to regard him with disapproving looks, but he ignored them and continued on. If he was going to be punished he was damn well going to argue his point before they took him away.

"I'll admit that Jack and the Doctor are the reason I took notice of the planet originally. But they were not the only reason I went there to defeat Cessilus. I looked at the planet properly and I saw the way it used to be, the way it should be, and then I saw the way it became after Cessilus took over and it disgusted me. Nobody deserves to have their liberty taken from them especially by someone like Cessilus so I put a stop to it."

He shot the head elder an accusatory look. "But I am curious as to what would be so bad about me wanting to save Jack and the Doctor?"

The head elder looked like his head was about to explode. Ianto knew the man wanted nothing more than to stride down the stairs and rip Ianto's head off his shoulders for questioning him like that, but of course he couldn't. Instead he took a deep breath to calm himself before opening his mouth obviously trying very hard not to yell. "They're mortals, we don't interfere with mortals," He growled through clenched teeth

"Yes they are mortal but Cessilus is not. By rights he's already interfered and that interference was simply being rectified by my actions."

The elder opened his mouth to protest but Ianto didn't give him a chance.

"Look, I know that whatever I say you're not going to care. Truth be told you wanted Cessilus out of the way and we all know it. You intentionally left Jack and the Doctor on that planet to lure me there, and then you used my caring for them to rid yourself of Cessilus without any of you having to lift so much as a finger. You could have stopped me at any moment I know you have the power and yet you didn't. You waited until Cessilus was defeated and then you just happened to arrive out of the blue to arrest me. Now you've thrown me up here to be punished for something that you should have taken care of yourselves and just couldn't be bothered. You're using me as an example to others and we both know it so what right do you have to question my intentions?"

He shook his head at the lead elder before turning his attention to the rest of the congregation. "I have made no secret of my love for Captain Jack Harkness and I have no intention of ever doing so because I don't feel the need. Yes I went to that planet to save him and the Doctor as well as those people and I honestly can't see why that's wrong. Even if I had only been going there for him what would be wrong with that? How is it such a terrible thing that I wanted to save him from suffering?"

He turned to look at the lead elder once again. "How can you honestly stand there and think it's okay to just leave someone like Cessilus out there where he can hurt people? Jack wouldn't have and neither would the Doctor. If they'd been capable they would have fought with everything in them to save those people because that's what they do. They sacrifice any hope of personal happiness to make the universe a better place."

"Jack will never die and the Doctor will outlive everyone in the universe apart from him. They have millions of years ahead of them and they could do anything they wanted to with that time. They could while away the years with random strangers, they could ignore the cries of the helpless and walk only in the happy places, they could become like Cessilus if they wanted to and there is no one who would be able to stop them but they don't. They spend all of their time helping others, sacrificing themselves over and over and what thanks do they get for their trouble? We let someone like Cessilus hold them hostage, torture them incessantly and we do nothing!"

Ianto turned his attention to the council once more. "I know that my words are probably inconsequential to all of you, and when this is all over you'll still send me to the prison for eternity but I think this has to be said. If we are honestly too busy to help people like the doctor and Jack or those people that Cessilus enslaved, then how are we doing our duty as guardians? When we turn a blind eye to the suffering of others how can we honestly say we're any better than the demons we're supposed to oppose? I'm sorry but that doesn't seem right to me and if I have to pay the price of spending eternity in prison for saving someone that I love, not to mention two people who continuously help others then so be it. I'd do it again in a heart beat."

The Head Elder looked down at him for a moment before a nasty grin spread across his features. "You're right, Mr Jones, your words are inconsequential. You are a guardian, it is your job to take orders from us and you have no right standing up in front of this congregation and questioning rules that have been in place for centuries."

"Actually I think he has every right. In fact he makes quite an excellent point." The room stilled to absolute silence and slowly every occupant turned to look wide eyed at the young woman standing in the doorway to the council chamber. Ianto didn't recognise her but the rest of the council certainly did. Her orchid coloured eyes scanned the council room before coming to rest on the head elder once more.

'I think you and I need to talk," she suggested in a tone that left no room for disagreement. Ianto watched in total surprise as the head elder left his podium and made his way over to her without question. She left orders for Ianto to be made comfortable before gliding out of the room with the head elder in tow.

--

The Doctor sat on the floor of the TARDIS watching Jack as he sat by the door staring at nothing. Allira had left mere moments after telling Jack what was going to happen to Ianto and much to their chagrin; she'd taken Owen and Tosh with her.

Since hearing the news Jack hadn't moved, hadn't spoken, he'd basically become unresponsive. The Doctor had tried to talk to him but he didn't answer. He'd wrapped his arms around the other man and held him tightly but there wasn't so much as a glimmer of response from the Captain. He'd eventually given up trying to reach the other man and settled down beside the captain to wait for the other man to come out it on his own.

A few hours had passed and still there was no sign that Jack might be returning to normal any time soon. The Doctor didn't move from his side however, adamant that when Jack did snap out of it he'd be there to help him. That was assuming that Jack would even want the Doctor around, he'd been more than a little cranky with him earlier.

Sighing quietly The Doctor carefully slipped an arm around one of Jack's and leant his head on the other man's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Jack," he said quietly. "If I could trade places with him for you I would but I can't. I hope you can forgive me, I never wanted to hurt you." He closed his eyes and settled in to wait; sure that Jack wouldn't want to be alone even when he was completely unaware of anything outside of his own head.

The Doctor wasn't sure of how much time had passed, but suddenly he found himself being jolted awake by the sound of the TARDIS' phone ringing. He looked up hopefully at Jack but found him unchanged. Sighing, he slid his arm out of Jack's and made his way over to the phone.

"Hello," he answered quietly.

"Hello, Doctor it's Martha. We're having a bit of a problem with some major temporal anomalies here at the Torchwood hub. Do you think you might be able to help us out?"

The Doctor wanted to say no. He didn't want to go anywhere except to sleep and preferably with Jack somewhere nearby so he could be there when he came back to reality. But he couldn't say no to Martha, he owed her too much. Instead he bit back a groan and told her he'd be there soon. He programmed the TARDIS to follow the signal from the phone call so he could be sure he'd appear in the right time and made his way back over to Jack.

"I'm sorry, Jack I have to help her." He closed his eyes as he imagined the kind of response Jack would have come up with were he aware of his surroundings at the moment and fought back a bout of tears. A few minutes later he felt the TARDIS stop and he knew that he'd arrived at the new Torchwood hub.

Taking one last look at Jack, he opened the door just enough to slip out but not enough for anyone else to see in.

The site that greeted him was Martha, Gwen, Mickey and a couple of people he didn't recognise, standing a few feet away from the TARDIS waiting for him with expectant eyes. Behind them stood several different members of Torchwood from as far back as the 1800s and all of them were looking at him in the same way. They looked at him like the hero they thought he was, and he felt like anything but.

Martha, who had been smiling warmly in his direction when he'd first emerged, took one decent look at him and the smile died. "Doctor what's happened to you? Are you all right?" She asked the concern showing clearly in her voice.

Normally it would have been so easy for him to lie and tell her that he was fine. Right now however, he was so full of guilt and pain for Jack that he couldn't muster up the strength to be anywhere near his normal cheery self, and trying would have been pointless because Martha would see right through it. So he did the only thing he could do, he told her the truth as gently as he could.

"I've had better weeks, Martha." He'd had better years, but telling her that would have meant he'd have to go into details and he couldn't handle thinking about Donna right now. "But that's neither here nor there. I can see your problem plainly enough, I'll be happy to help you. Just give me 30 minutes alone in there and I'll be right with you ok." He motioned to the TARDIS behind him.

He could tell Martha was worried and that she wanted nothing more than to grab him and shake the answers out of him. But she agreed quietly and he turned around intending to slip back into the TARDIS.

"Wait, Doctor." Gwen's voice stopped him.

He turned back to look at her already knowing what she was going to ask. "Yes Gwen Cooper."

"Is Jack with you?" She asked the expected question.

"Yeah, he is. I wouldn't expect to be seeing him while we're here though."

"Is he all right?" She asked.

"Do you honestly need to ask me that question?"

Gwen held his gaze for a moment before shaking her head and looking down. "No."

The Doctor nodded and disappeared back inside the TARDIS.

--

Ianto looked up from the book he'd pulled out of the elder's study to read while he waited for the head elder and the mysterious lady to return, as he heard footsteps approaching. He found it to be the mysterious lady entering the room he was being kept in, a pleasant smile on her face.

"Mr Jones, I'm…well let's just say The Lady." She held out her hand and Ianto shook it gently. "I'd like you to come with me please, there's something I wish to discuss with you."

Without a word Ianto placed the book on the table beside him and motioned for her to lead the way.

She favoured him with another smile and glided from the room, her long gown, swirling with a rainbow of colours, flowed gracefully behind her as she moved. As they walked through the corridor Ianto couldn't help studying her wings. Unlike the angels her wings weren't just one colour. The centre of them was white but the feathers that made up the rest were a rainbow of different colours ranging all the way from cobalt blue, to ebony black. Her hair was long and wavy and the only thing about her that wasn't multicoloured. Instead it was a bright, ivory colour and shone like a salt water pearls when the sun's rays touched it She was absolutely incredible to look at and Ianto was so busy studying her that he almost missed her announcing that they'd arrived at their destination.

He stopped behind her and watched as she opened a door that looked like it hadn't been moved in centuries. She stepped inside and motioned for Ianto to follow after her. Ianto took one step into the room and the sight that greeted him was absolutely amazing.

"Oh wow!" Was all he could think to say. The Room was huge with a high vaulted cathedral ceiling made entirely of dark red mahogany. Floor to ceiling book cases took up two of the walls while the one opposite the door was completely covered by ornately decorated drapes. A mahogany desk sat in the middle of the room and a massive chandelier, made entirely of gold and multicoloured crystals hung suspended above it. The chandelier held at least 100 candles, and there were more set in to holders across the front of the desk as well as several poking out of every available space on the walls.

The Lady smiled. "This is my old work room," she announced. She held up her hand and all of the candles in the room suddenly lit up, filling the space with a rainbow of colour. "Have you ever heard the story of the original elders, Mr Jones?" She asked.

"I can't say I have Lady," he replied.

She nodded. "Not many these days have, Mr Jones." She walked over to the old drapes on the far wall and drew them back to reveal a large cathedral style window with the loveliest view of the Eternal Kingdom Ianto had ever seen. "When this place was first created, we built it to mirror the world we had come from. Not much of the architecture has changed which is nice to see." She turned back to look at Ianto who was now staring at her in shock.

"You…you built the Eternal Kingdom?" He asked

"Myself and many others. Before this place existed the souls of those who had died either faded away into nothingness, or if they were really strong, they moved straight on to new bodies and new lives. When my people were wiped out we were still far too strong to simply fade away and we couldn't move on to new bodies. There were no other species within which our consciousness' could survive, they simply didn't have the mental capacity to house us without either going mad or dying. We floated around for a while in the nothingness not really sure what was happening, or how long we'd been there. Then one day we realized that with our death had come gifts or sorts. We could do things we'd never been capable of while we were alive, amazing things. So we all came together in one big group and wished for a place where we could live out the rest of our existence in happiness and light."

She stepped back and motioned with her hand toward the window. "We succeeded."

Ianto moved to stand beside her and looked out over the kingdom. "It is beautiful, Lady, you must have been so thrilled with your achievement."

She smiled. "We were. We used our gifts to build ourselves houses and cities, we spread out over all of this great land we'd created and made new lives for ourselves. We lived alone up here for years, until one day we decided that unlike the world we'd lived in previously, this one should be shared with others. Not just any others of course, we chose only those who'd lived their lives with honour and respect for their planet and the people around them. We made a community and gave those people choices just like you were given when you first arrived. If they wanted to move on to their next lives we gave them 100 years of bliss before moving them on to their next incarnations. If they wanted to remain as they were they could live and work in the Eternal Kingdom, either as their previously chosen profession or if they wanted to learn something new, or we had no place for their particular skills here, we taught them new things."

"Like when you train people like me to be guardians?" He asked.

"Well, no, Mr Jones, not quite the same. You see, when our kingdom was first created we had no need for guardians. Out land was peaceful, and there was no great power out there harming anyone else so there was no point training soldiers. Of course that didn't last, peaceful times never seem to. Our enemy, who perished with us during the war, had also been too powerful to disappear into the nothingness. It seemed they had the same ideas we had, only a little darker. One day it was just us, and the next, they were out in the universe with the army they'd created. Hurting the innocent and trying to take over everyone and everything just like they had when they were alive. We were a peaceful people, Mr Jones, when we were alive as well as in death. But we knew that the enemy would never give up and we knew there was no one else to stop them, so we did what we had to do."

She walked over to the book shelf and pulled out a thick, black, hard covered book. She searched through the pages until she found the one she wanted and handed the book to Ianto. The picture was of a great battle between multi coloured, winged beings like the Lady, and grotesque looking demons with jagged teeth and long, deadly looking claws.

"We won the battle, we managed to destroy our old enemy, but as you well know from your lessons, Mr Jones, evil can never really be defeated. If there was no evil in the universe there would be no good, and that balance needs to exist in order for the universe to survive. We knew this better than anyone else and so we made a decision. We trained others to take our place as the guardians of the Eternal Kingdom, you know them as the elders, and we took what remained of our enemy and left this universe, just like we should have done originally. They were too evil to be allowed anywhere near the mortal realm, and without them to balance us we were too good to stay."

"Where did you go, Lady?" Ianto asked.

She smiled up at him and it was only then that he really noticed how tiny she was. "Back to where we belong, Mr Jones. A place that only those who have achieved true enlightenment, may tread without the assistance of technology."

Ianto nodded, understanding that there was probably nothing more she could tell him. He looked down at the book in his hands and flipped back through the pages until he came across an image of a great city. Curious, he held up the book for her to see.

"Is this the city you came from originally?" He asked.

"It is indeed, beautiful isn't it?" she asked.

Ianto nodded, scanning the image for a few moments longer before his eyes fell to the words written beneath the picture in fine, calligraphic print. He read through the short paragraph written about the planet and it's achievements, and was imagining what a lovely place it would have been before it was destroyed. Then he reached the bottom of the paragraph and read the planet's name. His eyes grew as big as saucers and he nearly dropped the book in shock. He looked from the book, to the lady and back again several times; trying to marry up what the book was saying with what she'd just told him.

'No way, it couldn't be…'

End of chapter 4

So what do we think? Please let me know and who do we think the lady might be????


	5. No Means No Gwen!

Hi everyone, please don't hurt me I'm sorry!!! As it is it's a miracle that I got to get this chapter out at all with all the computer issues I'm currently having!! It seems she needs therapy and a lot of it!! Thankfully I still have my trusty old puter to fall back on, whoever said that ACERs sucked!!! Mine had outlived very other computer we have in this house. Anyway this chapter comes with a few warnings. I'm sorry if it's not gramaticaly correct blame the computer for that one. There's some Doctor self deprecation as well as some Jack and lots of Gwen bashing from all sides!! I'm sorry I don't really hate her she's just so nosy all the time and it annoys me I thought it was about time she got hers!!! Anyway without further ado here's the next installment of fallen angel.

This chapter is dedicated to Ritnou, Consider-Yourself-Poned, DraxLady, SarGazer and ME who was just too lazy to sign in, bloody slackass you are aren't you woman??? It's okay we're friends really.

Chapter 5 No Means No Gwen!!!

Ianto stared at the book for what felt like hours -but was only actually a few minutes- before the Lady noticed his silence and asked him what was wrong. Still in shock he held the book up for her to see once more.

"You come from here?" He asked again.

As if she understood what he meant the Lady started to laugh quietly. The sound wrapped over and around him like a warm blanket.

Ianto blinked at her for a few seconds before asking. "What?"

The Lady shook her head. "It's nothing, Mr Jones; you just look so adorable when you're confused." She giggled a little more before taking the book from him. "Yes, this is the place that used to be my home. I figured you would have heard of it somewhere along the line, even though you've only ever met our one surviving brother briefly and he doesn't talk about it much."

Ianto nodded and looked down. "I'm sorry," he said after a few moments looking back up at her. "It must have been hard for you, losing your world like you did."

The Lady reached out and gently touched his face. "Thank you," she said quietly. "You're a very kind young man, Ianto Jones." After a few moments she pulled back once more and moved to put the book back on the shelf. "But we're not here to talk about my world; we're here to talk about you."

"Me?" Ianto asked clearly surprised.

The Lady smiled. "That's right, Mr Jones. You, Captain Harkness, my brother." The Lady seemed to ponder for a moment. "And possibly someone called Donna Noble, do you know her at all?"

--

The Doctor finished his shower and climbed out. He threw on his brown suit and his sneakers and walked over to look in the mirror. A long gash dominated his right cheek and he felt sore and bruised all over. He knew it would take less than a second for him to regenerate and he'd feel better almost immediately but he didn't do it. Jack was suffering so much right now and it felt wrong that he could fix himself physically, but could do nothing at all for the captain. Sighing he headed out to the main room of the TARDIS and was more than a little surprised to find Jack gone.

Curious, and more than a little upset with himself for not being there when Jack finally snapped out of his daze, the Doctor started listening for signs of movement within the TARDIS. He heard a few small shuffles and headed in the direction of Jack's room. The TARDIS had no actual doors to block the main room off from the smaller ones, just long winding walkways and arches to indicate that you were entering another room. He knocked on the wall next to the archway before peering into the room.

Jack was nowhere to be seen but the Doctor could hear the sound of the showers sonic waves humming away in Jack's bathroom. He thought about sitting down on Jack's bed and waiting for the other man to emerge, but he'd already been half an hour and he'd promised Martha his help. He knew she'd understand if he told her what had been going on. But Jack's screams, and the way the man had looked at him earlier… He'd spent the last half hour pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind so he could help Martha quickly and get off this planet, if he had to explain what had happened those memories would come roaring back to the surface and he'd be of no use to anyone.

The Doctor closed his eyes and shook his head. He couldn't blame Jack for hating him right now, and the other man had been right. The Doctor had helped so many people in his life time and yet he could do nothing to help the man that Jack…well…The Doctor was pretty sure Jack loved him, but it wasn't because he didn't want to and he hoped that Jack had been listening and had understood when the Doctor had told him that earlier.

With a quiet sigh he headed back out into the main area of the TARDIS and programmed a message into the system so it would alert Jack about where they were if he decided to come out of his room. With one last glance down the corridor toward Jack's room the Doctor headed out of the TARDIS to see Martha, closing the door behind him.

As soon as he emerged he found Martha standing in front of the door waiting for him, her hand still poised to knock. The Doctor looked at her quizzically and she lowered her hand looking a little sheepish.

"I know it had barely been more than half an hour but I was worried about you," she explained.

The Doctor just nodded. "I'm fine." He lied, knowing perfectly well that she wouldn't buy it. "Let's get to work," he said before she could question him further and began heading toward the computers. He heard Martha start to follow without question, a few steps away from the TARDIS however, the sound of her voice stopped him.

"You can't get in there without a key."

The Doctor turned around to see Gwen standing a few feet from the TARDIS door looking none too thrilled with Martha for ratting her out. He felt anger boiling up within him and he took a moment to calm himself before he addressed her. "Leave it Gwen," he all but growled at her. "If he wanted to see you he'd come out."

"But how do we know he's all right?" Gwen demanded.

"You don't, because he's not, I thought we'd already covered this."

"But I just want to…"

"No!" The Doctor did growl this time. "I said no Gwen, no means no!"

"And why should I listen to you?" She asked.

"No one said you had to, but you're not getting in that TARDIS and that's final."

"But Jack's been gone for so long, why won't he come out and…"

"And what, Gwen?" The Doctor demanded. "What exactly is it that you want him to do? You want him to come out here and tell you that he's fine? To tell you that he's going to just come on back to the place where he'd spent more than a hundred years of his life having to be responsible for everyone and everything that happens on this planet just because you're here? Is that what you want Gwen?"

Gwen just stared at him for a moment, obviously not used to being questioned like this.

The Doctor stalked back over to the TARDIS and stopped an inch from her face. Lowering his voice he went on. "What do you think it would be like for him, to walk out here and see everyone? How do you think it would make him feel seeing all the people he's watched die over the years? How do you think he'd feel if he saw…" Neither of them dared say Ianto's name out loud, in case someone could overhear them.

He saw tears gather in Gwen's eyes. "I miss him, Doctor," she whispered.

"Well, as much as it may surprise you to hear it, the world doesn't revolve around you Gwen." He saw her eyes widen and the tears began to fall, but he couldn't bring himself to care right now. He turned and walked back towards Martha without looking back. "You're not getting in the TARDIS Gwen!" He snapped over his shoulder

--

Jack pulled his clothes and his shoes on and headed out into the main section of the TARDIS. As soon as he'd walked through the doorway the Doctor's program activated, telling him they were on Earth with a whole lot of past Torchwood personnel and if he planned on coming out at all to be prepared.

Sighing quietly to himself he moved over to the console and asked the TARDIS how long it had been since Allira had left. He wasn't at all surprised when the TARDIS told him that it had been several hours. He then asked the TARDIS to show him what had happened since then and a holographic image of the TARDIS' interior flashed up in front of him. He watched the Doctor sit down beside him and talk to him; he heard every word the other man said. He saw the pain and the guilt etched in the time lord's face and a horrible, sick feeling settled into his stomach.

He didn't blame the Doctor, for any of it. He knew there had been nothing the other man could do, if there had been he would have done it. The Doctor would never intentionally hurt him and he would never have left Ianto if there was another choice, the Doctor wasn't a coward. Ianto…Jack felt the tears slip down his face at the thought of his beautiful Welshman. He'd been right there, right in front of him and Jack hadn't been able to do anything about it, he'd been too weak.

He wiped the tears away and pushed thoughts of Ianto to the back of his mind as he turned to look at the TARDIS' door. There was plenty of time ahead of Jack to grieve his loss, a hell of a lot too much time! Right now he had to go and talk to the Doctor, make him understand that Jack hadn't meant what he'd said he was just upset. He'd already lost Ianto, twice now, he didn't think he could handle it if he lost the Doctor too.

He closed his eyes for a moment, gathering as much of his strength as he could muster to face what was out there. Finally, when he knew he couldn't fell any more ready, he took a deep breath and opened the TARDIS door.

--

The Doctor sat at one of the Torchwood computer terminals working on finding out how the past staff had gotten there and how he could send them back without killing everyone in Cardiff. Martha sat silently beside him, handing him things when he asked for them but otherwise pretending to be invisible.

The Doctor knew that it wouldn't be long before she couldn't stand the silence anymore and she'd start asking him questions, so he worked as quickly as he could so he could be out of there before he had to dodge too many. He watched her out of the corner of his eye getting more and more frustrated and finally he saw her snap.

"Doctor what happened?" She asked

"Lots and lots of bad, Martha," he replied without looking up.

"Is there anything I can do?" She asked.

"No."

They sat in silence for another few moments, and then Martha spoke again. "I don't think I've ever seen you hurt like that." She motioned toward his face and the large gash that was dominating one side of it. "Can't you regenerate it?" She asked

"I can, but I'm not going to."

"Why not?" She asked quietly.

"Because right now I deserve to suffer as much as I possibly can," he replied, feeling himself drifting closer and closer toward losing his control.

"Suffer?" He heard Martha gasp. "You don't deserve to suffer, Doctor. Why would you ever think that?"

"I don't want to talk about this, Martha," he tried not to snap at her but it was getting harder as the seconds ticked by.

"But I don't understand, why would you ever think that?"

"Martha, please."

"But, Doctor"

"Leave it, Martha."

"But-

"Fine!" The Doctor felt his temper snap the leash and he whirled around to face his former companion. "You want to know why I deserve to suffer, Martha? You really want to know why, well let's think, where to start? Oh, how about the time war? I killed our enemy but had to wipe out my entire civilisation with them, and just to rub salt into the wound, the enemy keeps popping back up all over the place and I've yet to see another time lord since. Add to that the fact that another version of me wiped out an entire civilisation just over a year ago and we've got a really good beginning. Let's see, I take people out of their ordinary lives, show them the wonders of the galaxy and somehow along the way I always end up ruining them in one way or another. I got Rose stuck in another universe, I'm the reason Jack will never stay dead, I made you run around the earth for a year with death at every turn, I nearly killed Donna with the knowledge that she got from my hand and consequently had to remove it and any memory of me, sending her back to the normal life she did everything to escape."

He turned away and took a deep breath, linking his hands together behind his head. After a few seconds he turned back to look at her. "I spend my lifetime helping complete strangers, but I can't manage to help my friends when they need me. I help civilisations to defeat evil overlords and then the evil overlords turn into demons and enslave other civilisations. But most recently, I'd say I deserve to suffer because I've just spent the better part of a week watching some sadistic bastard torture Jack to death over and over, and not because he has something against Jack, but because he wants to hurt me and he knows that I can't stand to watch my friends suffer. The worst part of it all is that Jack did everything in his power to keep the monster's attention on him, because he thinks that my life is worth more than his and that _he_ deserves to suffer for everything _he_'s done."

The Doctor felt the pain starting to win over the anger and his eyes burnt with tears as he looked down at the keyboard in front of him. "That man is a saint next to me and he can't even see it. He thinks he deserves to suffer like he is now and I can't find any way to make him understand that he's wrong. I'm not a hero, I destroy everything I touch and if anyone deserves to suffer it's me."

"No you don't."

They both turned to see Jack standing behind them, clad in his usual attire complete with Jacket and boots. He gave Martha a nod of acknowledgement before turning his attention back to the Doctor. "You are a hero, Doctor. You spend your entire existence helping other people without ever asking for anything in return. You take your companions out into the universe and show them more wonderful things in a few days then most people get to see in an entire lifetime. Yes, things don't always end well, but I'm certain that if you asked Rose or Martha or Donna or any of the other companions you've had in the past, they'd tell you that regardless of how things ended, they wouldn't trade the time they had with you for anything. You make us better, you made me better. If it weren't for you I wouldn't be who I am today, I would never have ended up on earth, I would never have met…" he trailed off.

"If you'd never met him you wouldn't be in so much pain right now," the Doctor argued quietly.

"If I'd never met him I would never have known what if felt like to love someone that deeply. Yes I hurt right now and there is nothing that can make the pain stop, but I'd never take it back, I'll never regret knowing him. The memories hurt, but at least I have memories, and as pathetic as it sounds, that tiny sliver of time we spent together was the best few years of my life. He loved me, honestly and truly loved me. It didn't matter what I'd done or who I'd been, his love for me never wavered, not once. I may have only had it for a little while but some people never have it at all. That kind of love is a gift, and no matter where I go or what I do from here on out I will always remember him, I will always love him. Without you I never would have known what it was like to feel that."

"You really did love him then?"

Jack turned to see Gwen standing behind him, tears brimming in her dark brown eyes.

"Yes, I really did," Jack replied.

"Then why didn't you tell him, Jack? He was dying, he told you and you just-

"Stop it, Gwen," It was Mickey who interrupted her. "He doesn't have to explain himself to us; his personal life's his own business." He walked over to Jack and placed a gentle hand on his arm. "I'm sorry for what happened, mate; I know it must have been hard for you. It's good to see you again, really."

Jack managed a ghost of a smile. "You too."

"And Jack's right, you know, about Rose. She never regretted any of it," he addressed the Doctor. "I mean she missed you like hell but, she'd never have taken it back."

The Doctor looked down.

Jack reached forward and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "What happened before wasn't your fault, and I'm sorry for what I said. I didn't mean it I was just angry and upset. There was nothing any of us could have done and I know that, do you forgive me?"

"Me forgive you?" The Doctor asked incredulously. "Yes, because spending the last few days letting a maniac torture you is something you need to be sorry for."

Jack somehow managed to chuckle slightly, despite the heart wrenching pain that filled his entire being.

"You have every right to be mad at me, Jack."

Jack shook his head. "But I'm no so can we put it behind us. Please." He added the last word when the Doctor opened his mouth to argue.

The Doctor studied his eyes for a moment, looking or clues to what Jack was really thinking. "All right," he finally replied.

He saw Jack let out a breath he probably hadn't even been aware of holding and managed a ghost of a smile for the Doctor. "Thank you."

They all stood in silence for a few moments before Jack turned to look at the large cog door leading to the outside world.

"I'm going to take a walk; I'll be back in a bit."

The Doctor nodded and watched Jack turn to leave.

"Jack, wait." Gwen's voice stopped him in his tracks. She ran over to him and grabbed a hold of his arm. "You've been away for ages, can't we-

"I can't do this right now, Gwen, I'm sorry." He tried to pull his arm out of her grip but she held firm.

"But, Jack, can't you just-

"No." He barely breathed the word but the emotion behind it was clear. She saw tears sparkling in his tired, blue eyes as they met her own tear drenched brown. "I can't be here, not while they're all…" he trailed off, the tears starting to get the better of him. He took a few deep breaths to try and regain some measure of control before he spoke again. "I don't have any answers for you, Gwen. Not any that you want to hear anyway. I just can't be here right now. Please, just this once, think about someone other than you and what you want for a moment."

She let go of his arm, clearly upset by what he was implying. "I have to deal with what happened too you know."

Jack nodded. "Yeah, that's what you have Reece for remember." He knew she didn't miss the bitterness behind those words and for a moment he almost felt bad for how he'd said them. Memories of Ianto quickly filled his head however, and the sadness instantly replaced anything else he might have been at risk of feeling.

Without another word he turned and continued on his way to the door. As it rolled closed behind him he heard Mickey addressing Gwen.

"You have to make everything about you, don't you?"

--

Jack opened the door to the tourist office and headed out into a cool, breezy Cardiff day. He took a deep breath, breathing in the sea air and hoping it might bring him some comfort. It didn't work. In fact, his mood got a hell of a lot worse when he realized that he was standing in exactly the same spot where Ianto had been standing the day he'd surprised Jack with the first cup of his glorious coffee.

Jack bit back the sob that threatened to escape his lips at the memory and turned to look out over the bay that had been his home for so many years. Resting his arms on the railing he thought back to all the times he'd walked out of the very same door he'd just exited with Ianto only seconds behind him. He'd wait while the other man locked the door and tested it to make sure it was locked properly. Ianto would then turn to face Jack with one of those lovely, shy smiles he only ever gave him when they were alone and Jack would return it with one of his own.

Jack's gaze would never leave Ianto as the young Welshman moved away from the door to stand by his side, and as soon as he was there Jack's arm was around him, holding Ianto tightly to him. Ianto would always lean into him just a little before his arm slid around Jack's waist and he held him back just as tightly. They'd start to walk away from the tourist office and he'd watch Ianto close his eyes, just for a moment, and breathe in Jack's scent. Jack never told Ianto that he noticed or that he thought it was cute, but then there were a lot of things that Jack never told Ianto, and now he regretted it.

He felt the sobs rising in his chest once more and this time he didn't fight them. He buried his face in his hands and just stood there leaning against the railing as they shuddered through him. Ianto, his beautiful Ianto, why had Jack been so stupid? Why had he never told Ianto how much he meant to him? Why did the Welshman have to die in order for Jack to realise how much he needed him? So many questions, never any answers.

Jack wasn't sure how long he stood there like that but eventually he just couldn't cry anymore. The last few days had been murder on him and all he really wanted was to curl up into a ball and sleep, but he couldn't. He hadn't slept properly since Ianto had died, the bed always felt cold and he had horrific nightmares almost every night. Honestly, Jack had almost forgotten what a good nights sleep felt like.

He stood there for another few minutes, staring out at the bay. He'd come out here intending to go for a walk around Cardiff and he still intended to, even if everything he saw reminded him of Ianto. He allowed himself a few more minutes to calm down and gather himself together before taking one last look out at the bay. He really did miss it here sometimes, maybe one day he would come back. Taking a deep breath he turned to walk away from the hub and froze.

Two people were walking up the wooden walkway toward the tourist office; both of them were looking directly at him. One was a woman with long, red/brown hair and pale skin, wearing a pair of jeans and a long brown shirt. Even from this distance he recognised Donna Noble immediately. It was lovely to see her again and he was sure the Doctor would think so too even if she wasn't supposed to remember him.

It wasn't her that drew most of his attention however, but rather the man walking beside her. He was exactly the way Jack always pictured him in his dreams; dressed immaculately in black dress pants, a long sleeved, red, button up shirt and a black Jacket. Jack felt tears fill his eyes once more as his mouth moved to form the word he never thought he be able to say again in his lifetime without pain.

"Ianto."

End of chapter 5

Yay Ianto's back!!!!! Hope you liked the chapter and the Gwen bashing, more soon hopefully. Please REVIEW!!!!!!!


	6. Old Faces

Hello all!!I just finished a big assignment and decided the best way to celebrate was by writing a new chapter :) So here it is I hope you like it please review PLEASE!!!!! Oh and there are mention of people you might be scratching your head and thinking who is that??? All will be axplained as the story progresses and most of it in ther next chapter.

Happy reading

Kayla

This chapter is dedicated to Me (my friend), Aleska, Elanor16, Tylluan, Wolfy28, Poisoned-Thorns and Trachstar 211. Review replies will be at the bottom of the chapter.

**Chapter 6 Old Faces, New Discoveries and an Annoying Demon That Just Won't Go Away**

Jack stood transfixed, watching Ianto as he got closer and closer. He wanted to run to him, throw his arms around him and never let him go, but he was frozen in place, barely able to believe what his eyes were seeing. Was he dreaming? Was he hallucinating? He blinked a few times but Ianto was still there. He pinched the back of his hand and it hurt. Okay, so maybe not dreaming and probably not hallucinating either. Oh, god please let it be real.

Finally, Ianto stopped about a foot away from Jack and gave him one of those lovely, shy smiles that Jack loved so much. "Hello, Jack," he greeted in a quiet tone.

"Ianto," was all Jack could say back. All of his rational thoughts had fled the moment he heard that gorgeous Welsh voice speaking to him again. They gazed at each other for a few moments, neither of them really sure what to do.

Jack's attention was pulled away for a moment when he felt a gentle hand on his arm. He glanced round and found himself looking straight into Donna's eyes. She didn't say anything; she simply smiled fondly at him before continuing on to the tourist office and disappearing inside.

Jack watched her go before turning his attention back to his beautiful Welshman. Ianto hadn't moved; he still stood in exactly the same place, watching Jack with patient, loving eyes. Jack allowed his eyes to roam over the young man's body, taking in all the minute changes that one didn't notice unless they were really looking. His skin looked like it had seen a bit more sun than it used to in the past, his body seemed more filled out, his eyes were a different colour, and Jack could remember them glowing that very same colour just a few hours ago.

At the same time though, Ianto wasn't any taller or shorter, his hair was the same length and colour, he still looked fantastic in red and that smile; the way he looked at Jack like he was all the younger man would ever need, that was exactly the same.

Jack's gaze met Ianto's once more, and he felt tears burning in his eyes. He wanted to touch Ianto; to hold him, to kiss him; god only knew how much. But he couldn't shake the horrible fear that Ianto would disappear as soon as he tried to touch him. Ianto wouldn't would he? He wasn't dreaming again was he? The pinch had hurt but dreams could feel so real sometimes. He felt his breath catch on a sob, and the tears escaped his eyes. He couldn't be imaging it. He couldn't take that.

He saw pain and understanding fill Ianto's eyes and the young man took a step toward him. Jack stiffened and took a step back, shaking his head. "No, I don't want you to disappear yet," he said tearfully.

He watched as Ianto's eyes filled with tears, and he imagined they were more for him than Ianto himself. The young Welshman had never liked seeing him hurt, preferring to be in pain himself. "Jack, I'm real," he said quietly. "I'm not a dream. Please let me prove it to you." He took another step forward.

Jack wanted so badly to believe, and he knew it would hurt like hell if it proved to be a hallucination, but he had to take the chance. He stopped backing away from the vision and stayed perfectly still, mentally preparing himself for the moment when Ianto would disappear, and he'd wake up in his bed in the TARDIS.

Ianto stopped when he was standing less than a foot in front of Jack once more and slowly reached out his hand to touch Jack's face.

Jack let out a shaky breath as he felt Ianto's fingers gently caress the skin of his cheek. He was real, oh god, Ianto was really here. A desperate sob escaped Jack's lips as he threw his arms around the young guardian and held him as tightly as his tired body could manage. He felt an incredible surge of pleasure as Ianto's hands slid around his waist and held him back even tighter.

"Ianto, my, Ianto," he sobbed into the other man's shoulder.

"Yes, Jack, I'm here."

--

The Doctor sat in front of one of the Torchwood computers, sonic screwdriver in hand, trying to work out what was going wrong with the program he was trying to run. It was a simple enough procedure, but somehow he couldn't make it work and it was driving him mad. With a growl, he dropped the sonic screwdriver on the desk and rested his chin on his hands for a second. There had to be a reason why it wasn't working. He had to be missing something, but what?

He jumped when he realized he'd nearly fallen asleep just sitting there like that. Having gone without sleep for the last several days certainly wasn't helping matters, but he could do this. Surely he'd worked under such conditions before, hadn't he?

He picked up the sonic screwdriver once more and glared at his hand as it shook in defiance. "You're not helping things you know," he lectured it, and then immediately felt really stupid that he was talking to a hand. He forced it to press the button and the screwdriver buzzed to life. He then threw a victory grin at his hand before he realized what he was doing. "I'm claiming victory over my hand? I really must be going mad," he mumbled to himself, turning his attention back to the still not working program.

He was so focused and tired that he missed the sound of the alarms going off to indicate that someone had entered the hub through the cog doors. He missed the gasps of shock as the person in question made her way over to the desk he was currently occupying without saying a word to anyone. He didn't however, miss the hand that covered his around the screwdriver, keeping it steady so it could work properly. A large box flashed up on the screen to indicate that the program had activated, and the Doctor grinned at his achievement for a moment before looking up to see whose hand was wrapped around his.

His eyes grew wide as his gaze settled on Donna Noble, his former companion and possibly the best friend he'd ever had. "Donna," he gasped her name. "Donna, what are you doing here?" he asked with slightly more volume.

Donna didn't reply. Instead, she plucked the screwdriver from his hand and yanked him to his feet before pulling him over to the new couch Gwen had ordered that was still positioned just up the stairs from the medical bay. She then plonked him down on the couch and disappeared with a very direct order for the Doctor to stay put.

For the Doctor's part, he was far too shocked to see her there to do anything but stare after her open-mouthed.

Donna returned a few moments later with a very large glass of water and handed it to the Doctor before taking a seat beside him. "You need to take a break; you're no use to anyone if you die of exhaustion."

The Doctor stared at the glass of water for a few moments before turning his attention back to Donna. "Donna, what are you doing here?" he asked again. "You're not even supposed to remember me. You know what will happen if you get all that knowledge back."

"Well I have, and I'm fine. We can discuss the details of how and why later. Right now, you shouldn't be doing anything but going into that TARDIS, fixing that nasty gash and going to sleep for a full day at least."

"I have to get these people back home," he argued.

"They can wait another day," she argued back. They stared each other down for a minute before the Doctor gave up, knowing how insanely stubborn Donna could be.

"All right, fine, I'll rest for a while," he conceded.

"Good." Donna sat back in the chair looking all too pleased with herself. "So, this is the Torchwood hub?"

"The rebuilt one anyway."

Donna nodded. "It's very…big."

The Doctor just looked at her for a moment before saying her name quietly.

Donna turned to look at him with questioning eyes.

"It's really good to see you."

Donna smiled. "You too, spaceman," she replied.

The Doctor didn't miss the friendly, adoring look she gave him as she said it. She really was the best friend he'd ever had.

"So aside from the last week or so, how have you been?" she asked

The Doctor looked away, not sure how she'd react if he told her that he'd spent the last year or so going out of his mind missing her. He looked back up when he felt her hand on his and found her looking at him with an understanding smile. He turned his hand over so he could link his fingers through hers and smiled when he felt her squeeze his hand lightly.

"Hey, I've got some interesting news for you."

The Doctor raised his eyebrows and looked at her expectantly. "What?" he asked, eager for some more pleasant news.

"You'll never guess who I've just been talking to."

--

Jack wasn't sure how much time passed as he stood outside the tourist office holding Ianto. He knew the tears had stopped somewhere along the line; he just wasn't sure exactly when. Time had ceased to mean anything to him. He didn't care how long they'd been out there or whether or not anyone was wondering where he was. Ianto was here. He was in Jack's arms, and as long as Ianto had no objections, Jack wasn't going to do anything to change that.

He felt one of Ianto's hands come up to gently stroke his hair while the young man's lips pressed softly against his temple.

"Are you all right?" the Welshman asked quietly.

Jack thought about it. "Do you want the honest answer?" he asked in return.

"Of course."

Jack shook his head slightly. "No, I'm not. Nothing's right anymore. Every time I close my eyes I see you die. Every inch of me hurts all the time. I can't sleep, but when I do I usually have horrible nightmares, and I still wake up looking for you next to me. I feel empty and cold and miserable, and I want you to come back. I don't want to be here without you anymore." He felt the tears threatening again and clung to Ianto as if the man were a lifeline.

He felt Ianto's hand gently stroking his hair once more, calming him. "It's okay I'm here," Ianto whispered, the other hand stroking up and down Jack's back soothingly.

Jack felt a horrible, sick feeling in the bottom of his stomach as he opened his mouth to ask Ianto the next question. He was deathly afraid of what the answer was going to be but he had to know. "How long?"

"How long what, Jack?" Ianto asked back.

"How long have we got?" He felt Ianto pulling back slightly and even though Jack didn't want to, he released his grip just a little so Ianto could look into his eyes.

"What do you mean?" the man asked, as if confused by the question.

Jack searched his face for a moment before replying. "I mean, how long before you have to go back to wherever it is you exist now?" He saw understanding dawn on the Welshman's face.

"Ah, well…" Ianto's expression changed, and Jack couldn't read it, but then the man said, "That's kind of up to you."

"What?" Jack asked feeling rather confused.

"Um, Ianto, sorry to interrupt, mate."

Jack noted that Ianto seemed as surprised as he was to hear a voice coming from beside them. They turned to see Owen standing a few feet away from them on the walkway, looking rather worried.

"What's wrong, Owen?" Ianto asked.

"We have a problem."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a massive, swirling rift opened up in the sky over Cardiff Bay.

"What the hell is that?" Jack asked.

Owen and Ianto exchanged worried looks. "Oh, it's the big bad, Jack." Owen replied.

The three men slipped immediately into crisis mode, all of them forgetting that a moment ago Jack and Ianto had been involved in a conversation that could very well determine how they spent the rest of their existence.

A massive shock wave caused by the opening of the rift shook the bay and Ianto quickly grabbed Jack's hand and pulled him into the tourist office.

"What is it?" Jack asked again.

"Cessilus." Owen replied as the secret door opened behind the counter. "And he's bringing some friends."

--

Donna and the Doctor looked up as the computers sounded an alarm, indicating that something was wrong. The Torchwood personnel were immediately at their stations, looking at the footage of the massive swirling rift now opening over Cardiff Bay.

"What the hell is that?" Mickey asked

"I've never seen anything like it" Gwen replied.

The Doctor and Donna got up to have a look but were interrupted as an energy surge hit the ground above them, throwing them to the floor. Mere moments later, Jack's voice yelling at them to run, drew their attention to the cog door from where he, Ianto and Owen were entering at pace.

"Everyone get in the TARDIS!" Jack yelled.

"Jack what the hell's going on?" Gwen demanded before her eyes fell on Owen and Ianto. "Owen, Ianto, what-"

She was cut off by Owen, who ran over to her and grabbed one of her hands and one of Martha's and began pulling them toward the TARDIS. "Jack's not telling you to run because it sounds like a good pastime, sweetheart" he said, leaving them next to the TARDIS and heading down with Ianto to find the rest of their past guests while Jack grabbed the Doctor and Donna.

They flung the large board room door open and Owen addressed the group. "All right, everyone, listen up. There's danger heading this way, and we have to move. Grab anything you absolutely have to bring along and let's go."

Most of the group moved to comply except for two women at the back of the room who looked like they fell out of a BBC classic DVD. "Why? What's going on?" one of them demanded.

"You don't need to worry about that love. Just get your stuff and let's go," Owen replied.

"And what will happen if I don't come with you?" she asked

"You'll die." Owen replied matter-of-factly.

"And what exactly am I going to die from?" she demanded.

This time it was Ianto who spoke. "You know what, don't come. Stay here and die. I'm sure no one will miss you." He whirled around and left the room with a grinning Owen following close behind. They both knew who those women were, and what they'd done to Jack long ago. Ianto was very right; no one would care if they died, except maybe each other.

Halfway down the hall, the sound of the ladies footsteps following behind them caused Owen to grin knowingly over at Ianto. Reverse psychology; worked every time!

They got back to the TARDIS and loaded everyone up inside. Ianto closed the door behind the last one and made his way over to where Jack stood with the Doctor and Donna, looking at one of the TARDIS' consoles.

"Can we get away from here?" Jack was asking. "Maybe to an uninhabited planet somewhere; draw Cessilus away from Earth?"

"No," the Doctor replied. "There's some kind of energy field wrapped around the bay. The TARDIS will never get through it."

Jack's gaze shifted, and he saw Ianto approaching. As soon as the young man was close enough Jack slipped an arm around him and held him tightly against his side, ignoring the curious looks he was getting from the past Torchwood staff. He felt Ianto's arm slip around him in return, holding him just as tightly.

"What about a different time? Can we go to another time and on to another planet from there?" Ianto asked.

The Doctor shook his head. "The field permeates time as well as space. We won't be able to get past it that way either."

"Okay, so we have to make our stand here. Doctor, can you get the TARDIS down to the very bottom level of the hub?" Ianto asked.

"Yes, that shouldn't be a problem, but why?"

"It's the most defensible location we've got. The hallways are narrower, and it'll take longer for them to get there, which gives us more time to plan what we're going to do. Plus the further down we go the further down they have to come to catch us, which should hopefully mean less civilian casualties" Ianto replied.

"Good enough for me," the Doctor replied, running to the other side of the console, pushing buttons and pulling levers as he went. The TARDIS shook and rattled for a few seconds before becoming still once more. The Doctor ran back to where the other three were standing and pulled up a 3D image of where they were within the hub.

Ianto looked at the picture and nodded. "All right, I think this is the best place we can be. Now all we have to do is-"

A loud thumping on the TARDIS door caused everyone to freeze and turn their attention toward it.

"Is that them already?" Gwen asked.

"If it was them why would they be knocking?" Mickey countered.

"Because maybe they can't get in any other way," Gwen snarked back.

"That's enough you two!" Martha scolded.

Another knock on the door caused everyone to jump, and Mickey and Gwen stopped glaring at each other and turned their attention back to the door.

"I'm reading several heat signatures outside the TARDIS," the Doctor announced. "But they don't seem to be coming any closer; they're just kind of standing there, almost like they're waiting for something."

"Hey, Yan."

The group turned back toward the door once more and gasped. A head and half a torso were poking through the TARDIS door. While that might seem strange in and of itself, what made it stranger still was who the head belonged to. A pair of dark brown eyes focused on Ianto who was standing over next to Jack, looking slightly less shocked than the rest of the group.

"Oh good, you are here." The head was suddenly joined by a body, arms, legs and two large, red, feathered wings as the young woman stepped all the way through the door and came to a stop just inside the TARDIS. "Hi everyone, nice to see you all again since you're not pointing weapons at me anymore," she greeted the group.

Jack opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by Ianto who slipped out of his grasp and moved swiftly toward the new arrival.

"Lisa, how did Cessilus get out?" he asked when he got to her side.

The lady in question pulled a face. "You know the head elder; that lovely piece of work who tried to have you locked away in the prison for eternity? Well, turns out he's a big, fat traitor. He came into the prison, told the guards he was there to make sure that Cessilus was properly secure. Then, when their backs were turned, he opened a rift just like the one currently over Cardiff Bay and released a whole horde of demons into Cessilus' prison cell. Somehow they managed to put him back together and off they went closing the rift behind them."

"Was anybody hurt?" Ianto asked.

"The two guards on duty are currently in the hospital, having their limbs reattached, and my favourite shadow hound lost a few legs. All in all it was a terrible tragedy, but it could have been a hell of a lot worse."

Ianto nodded, thinking back over his conversation with the head elder in the council chamber. "That's why he wanted to send me to the prison."

"That's why he let you go in the first place."

Ianto looked over Lisa's shoulder to see Allira stepping into the TARDIS. She then made her way over to stand beside Lisa.

"Master," he greeted her with a respectful nod.

Allira smiled and reached out to gently touch his face. "I'm glad you're all right."

He returned her smile. "It's good to see you," he replied.

"What did you mean that's why they let him go?" Owen asked from his position next to the Doctor and Jack.

"That's why the head elder approved Ianto's elevation to Guardian after only a year. It shouldn't have been allowed; it never happens, and at the time I thought it was just because they recognised his potential just like I had, and in a way it was." She turned her attention back to Ianto. "They were watching you, Ianto. Almost everything you did, they watched. Some of them watched you because they thought you were an amazingly talented new guardian who would be an incredible asset to the kingdom. Others, it seems, were watching you for more sinister reasons."

She turned around to look at Jack who was trying incredibly hard not to look worried about how close Lisa was standing to Ianto or how the younger man had left his arms the minute she'd appeared in the TARDIS. "They knew your weaknesses, Ianto," she said turning back to address her former student. "They watched you with Toshiko, Owen, Tommy, Katie, Lisa, Derrek and me, and then they weighed what they learnt up against your greatest weakness. In the end, they knew who would win if it came down to a choice. They knew you were special just like I did, and they knew that if they let you go, you'd leave the eternal kingdom, and you'd be out of their way."

"The stupid part on their end was that they didn't always watch you during your training," Lisa added. "They mostly watched you during your down time. They knew you were good, but they didn't realize how good you'd got in that small space of time. They figured letting you go early would mean you wouldn't get strong enough to oppose them. They never stopped to actually test your power properly."

Ianto frowned. "I though those tests seemed a little too easy, but I thought maybe it just seemed that way to me because Master Allira was more of a perfectionist than most."

Allira shook her head. "No, apparently not."

"So they let me go knowing I'd go out and break the rules?" Ianto asked.

Lisa nodded. "They figured that if you weren't too much of a nuisance to them they'd just leave you be. They didn't really care what you did so long as you were out of their way."

"Unfortunately for them they didn't bank on Jack and the Doctor landing on Cessilus' planet," Allira continued.

"So why didn't they stop me from going?"

"Well, two reasons. Firstly, it would have shown the rest of the elders that the spies among them had previous knowledge of Cessilus, therefore leading them to wonder why that was and potentially launch an investigation into why they weren't informed, possibly exposing the spies for what they truly were. Secondly, because they weren't fully informed of your powers, they didn't think you'd be a threat to Cessilus, and therefore he'd destroy you, and you'd be out of their way for good. I imagine they were kind of shocked when they found out you'd blown him to bits," Lisa finished, with an all too cheerful grin on her face.

"Then when they found out that you'd killed Cessilus," Allira continued, "they put their plan into motion to have you locked up in the same cell as him. That way you'd be there when they came to put him back together and they could be properly rid of you."

"And when the Lady turned up…" Ianto began.

"She ruined their plans and they were forced to go to plan B."

"So what was the original plan?" Owen asked.

"They were going to get enough demons in place within the ranks of the sentinels, the sentries and the sorcerers to cripple our forces, and then they were going to send all the guardians off world on missions and bring in the invasion army," Lisa answered. "Once the guardians had realized that there was a problem, most of the remaining population of our kingdom would have been destroyed, and they would have come back to find a massive army waiting for them."

"Because of you however," Allira continued, refocusing her attention on Ianto, "the Lady returned to the Eternal Kingdom and their plan didn't go ahead. Your saving the Doctor and Jack also saved out kingdom you should be very proud of yourself."

"Of course, it also means that you're public enemy number one in the demon world right now," Lisa added.

"Oh, wonderful!" Ianto deadpanned.

"Don't feel too bad, I'm number two." Ianto raised an eyebrow questioningly in Lisa's direction. "I caught the demon that we got all the information out of," she clarified.

"Oh."

"Anyway, down to business. Cessilus is heading here with a horde of demons, and it's our job to stop him. Our forces are ready outside to take care of the lesser demons and hold off Cessilus for as long as we can but we need to come up with a way to destroy him. It took Ianto days to make a spell strong enough on his own but we obviously don't have that. Thankfully we've had Tosh, along with a group of scientists and sorcerers working on a weapon we might be able to use to achieve the same result Ianto did with his spell, and it should be done soon. All we need to do is buy as much time as possible and destroy as many demons as we can while we're waiting." Allira looked from Ianto to Lisa. "Any questions?"

"Yeah, I have one." Owen moved to stand in front of Allira. "Are you honestly going to let Ianto go out there with those things?"

Ianto shot him an annoyed look. "I'm fine, Owen," he all but growled at the young doctor.

"You're not fine, mate, and you know it," Owen disagreed.

"I am fine, I've got no glowing patches or anything," Ianto argued.

"The internal damage runs deep, Ianto. The elders ripped you off the world and up to face the tribunal without allowing you even a second to heal yourself. I know you've been healing bit by bit as we all do, but I also know it's slow going. You're not healed properly yet, you and I both know it, and as long as you have to focus on fixing yourself, you're vulnerable."

"Then what do you suggest I do?" Ianto demanded. "I'm not going to just sit here while the others are out fighting, I did plenty of that while I was alive."

Ianto and Owen stared each other down for several long moments before Owen finally gave in. With a heavy sigh, he pressed one hand against Ianto's chest and the other against his back. A bright flash of blue light lit up the TARDIS and when it faded, Owen stepped back and looked sternly at Ianto.

"That will hold everything together for the next few hours; hopefully you won't need it any longer than that. When this fight is over however, you are going to spend three days in bed recovering, and when I say bed rest, Jack," Owen turned his attention to his former boss, "I mean in bed resting. That means no funny business of any kind."

Jack turned to Ianto and raised an eyebrow suggestively. Ianto returned the Captain's look with a cheeky grin.

"What if I'm gentle?" Jack asked, trying to sound as innocent as he could.

Owen rolled his eyes at Allira and Lisa before focusing his attention back on Jack, a calculating look in his eyes. "Who said you weren't going to be confined to bed rest too, Captain?" he stated slyly. "You're even worse off than him, and if you're going to get cute about it, I'll put you in separate rooms and make you stay there."

"And what makes you think I'll let you? You're not the boss of me." Jack said in his best imitation of a disgruntled child's voice

"I may not be alive anymore, Jack, but I was your doctor for a long time. I know how long it can take you to completely recover after being killed so many times in quick succession. You're going to rest, or I'm going to chain you to a bed and make you, your choice."

"Oh really? Will I be allowed visitors or are you just trying to get me alone?" Jack asked suggestively.

"All right! Not to break up the fun little bit we've got going on here, but we have to-" Allira was interrupted by a humming sound coming from the heart of the TARDIS. Everyone present turned their attention to it and watched in awe as several beams of light flew out in all directions. They floated near the ceiling for a few seconds before taking on the shape of people and floating down to the floor.

Toshiko and Kate were two of the new arrivals, along with another woman and a man the others didn't recognise.

"Ah, Toshiko, perfect timing. What have you got for us?" Allira greeted her.

"Well, the bomb, for lack of a better term is nearly finished. I was just wondering if I might ask the Doctor a few things to help me finish it." While Toshiko looked up expectantly at the Doctor and the rest of the past Torchwood personnel were busy looking at Toshiko in shock, Ianto slipped undetected to Jack's side and pulled him gently into one of the TARDIS' corridors.

He stopped them when they were out of hearing range of the rest of the group and turned to look at his captain.

Jack opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Ianto grabbed Jack's face gently in his hands and kissed him, effectively cutting off whatever it was the Captain was going to say. He felt Jack's arms wrap around him and the older man kissed him back. It was a desperate kiss, filled with longing and fear and love. After a few moments though, Ianto had to pull himself away. He looked into Jack's concerned blue eyes and caressed the captain's face gently with his thumb.

"I know what Owen said worried you, but I need you to listen to me, Jack. If I honestly thought I was too injured to fight or I couldn't handle things out there, I wouldn't go. I'd stay in here with you. Not because I'm a coward or anything of the sort, but because what Allira said before about me making my choice was right. I was given my status as a guardian, and I had the choice of either staying in the Eternal Kingdom with Owen, Tosh, Lisa and all the others I've come to call friends over the past year, or to break the rules and come out here looking for you. I chose you, Jack, over everything else. I may serve the Eternal Kingdom and those people may be my friends but I fought long and hard to get back to you, and I'm not going to do anything that could possibly take me away again. Owen has done what he could, and he did a great job. I'm going to be just fine. And when this is all over and we're free of Cessilus, you and I are going to finish the conversation we started out on the bay. But right now, I have to go." He leant in and kissed Jack; a softer, gentler kiss than before.

When he pulled back, they gazed into each other's eyes for what felt like an eternity. He knew that Jack didn't want him to go but he also knew that the Captain wouldn't stop him. Unlike earlier, on the walkway when they'd first seen each other again, they were both still in crisis mode. Jack didn't get emotional, although Ianto could see it was hard for him. He was in his Captain head space, and he would remain there until the crisis was over.

He felt Jack grip his arms tightly, the only sign of emotion he was game to show right now. "Good luck," he said, barely above a whisper. "Be careful. I'll be waiting for you."

Ianto gazed into his eyes for a moment longer before whispering. "I love you." He captured Jack's lips in one last heart stopping kiss before he could reply, and as soon as it was over, Ianto pulled out of his arms and headed back out into the main room of the TARDIS without looking back.

He saw that Allira was the only one waiting for him when he re-entered the main room. "Come on then, Ianto," she called and disappeared through the door.

Ianto made his way almost to the TARDIS door before Tosh's voice stopped him. "Good luck, Ianto. Be careful all right."

Ianto gave her a smile as Jack re-entered the room and moved to stand beside her. "I will, Toshiko, good luck to you too."

Toshiko gave him a small smile before turning her attention back to her work. Ianto then shifted his gaze to meet Jack's for a moment, and the Captain gave him the slightest of nods. Ianto returned it and turned back to open the door.

He found Lisa standing in the doorway with a man who looked to be of African-American descent but spoke with a distinctly Australian accent. "Girl, I am all over that like a fat kid on a cup cake," the guy said to Lisa as their hands met in a high five.

"What are you two on about?" Ianto asked.

"We're having a competition to see who can blow up the most demons. Wanna take part?" the Aussie asked.

Ianto shook his head at the pair and gave them a long suffering smile. "You two are so childish."

"Hey, we resemble that comment." Lisa replied causing the other two to chuckle.

Ianto shook his head again and walked between the pair toward the centre of the hallway outside. "I don't know why you two invite me in on these things, you know I always win."

Lisa and her companion's laughter was the last thing the people inside the TARDIS heard before the door snapped shut.

Jack carefully lowered himself down on one of the chairs the Doctor had at the back of the TARDIS. He could be strong for Ianto. He could hold himself together and carry on as he always did, until all of this was over and he could finally let go. Because Ianto had promised to come back and Jack had to believe that he would.

End of chapter 6

So there we go what did you think??? Was it clear who Ianto's greatest weakness is? Do we all remember who Kate was in the show?? If not the next chapter will go into more detail about her, the sorcerers , the sentinals, the sentries and Lisa's friend at the end. Please review the're so lovely and they make me want to write more.

Now review replies.

Trackstar: Thank you for all the reviews they were all so lovely. Did you work out where the lady came from after the 5th chapter?

Poisoned-Thorns: I hope you liked the continuation of the cliffhanger and I'm glad you're liking my story so much.

Wolfy: I'm glad my story has kept your attention I know it can be hard when people take a while to add chapters, we're all so busy :( I hope my Ianto continues to live up to your expectations.

Elanor16: I hope you enjoy the continuation of the Jack Ianto scene and I'm not causing you too many tears. I'm so glad you're enjoying the story I'll try to keep it as fantastic as it has been.

Aleska: I'm glad you find the story line interesting I thought it was a good way to get him back too.

Me (the friend) You know I love you honey!! and yes I am a review horder so keep em coming ;)

And finally Tylluan: I honestly have to say that was the lovelies review anyone has ever written to me. I read it and then proceeded to spend the entire day smiling like a cheshire cat! My computer had to be reformatted and I lost all of my music but thankfully not my stories so there's a plus!!! I'm really glad you liked the scene with Jack and the Doctor I really enjoyed writing it and I think he needed to hear it too! I'll endevour to continue to keep my writing up to the highest of standards for you, promise. Thank you so much for the review it really made my day.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed please continue to do so.

Kayla


	7. FALLEN ANGEL ALMOST DONE PLEASE READ!

**Author's note**

**Hi everyone please don't shoot me!!! I know it's been a while since I've updated so I'm writing to let you know that fallen angel is all written and finished!! I have been in the middle of UNI exams and they're finally over so I can concentrate on my stories again at last. As I said it's all written and finished unfortunately the wonderful woman who usually proof reads for me is about to be in report card season and won't be able to help me for a while, and while I've never really used beta's in the past Torchwood is a much newer realm for me that sailor moon and I still have a few kinks to iron out in my writing. So that being said I need a Beta to help me with the last part of the story and the other 3 stories I've already started writing over the last little while and intend to post once this one is finished. So is there anyone out there who wants to help me??? If so please let me know either send me a message or a review with your answer. I don't need too much help just someone who knows Torchwood well (my friends around here don't) and can tell me whether certain bits make sense from a fan's perspective.**

**Please write to me if you're interested but either way the next chapter of fallen angel will be up ASAP.**

**Thanks**

**Kayla**


	8. The Lady's gift

Hi all here's the next chapter had a few bugs to work out but I think it's worked out better this way. Not the end yet but we're getting closer. Please review and let me know what you think of the Lady's gifts. I loved the idea myself and my new Beta liked it too. So here we go, hope you like it.

This chapter is dedicated to Socalrose, the lovely lady who's taken on the task of being my beta for the rest of this story. Kisses and hugs go to you in spades honey, thank you so much for your help.

**Chapter 7 The Lady's Gift.**

The moment the battle began, they knew about it. The TARDIS rocked violently as the first wave of enemy fire was launched at the angels, only to be deflected back by a powerful energy field that the TARDIS had erected around herself and her protectors keeping them, herself, her Jack and her Doctor as safe as she could.

Inside her walls the Doctor, Toshiko, Katie and the other two angels who'd accompanied them worked on their weapon. Owen, Mickey, Martha and Lois –one of the people the Doctor hadn't recognised when he'd first arrived- watched the battle taking place outside on one of the TARDIS screens. Gwen had moved all the past guests into another room of the TARDIS so they were out of everyone's way and was now wandering through the TARDIS completely lost because she'd decided to do some exploring after getting everyone settled and couldn't remember how to get back.

Jack however hadn't moved from his seat at the back of the TARDIS. He knew he could go up to the screen with the others and watch the battle but he just couldn't. Ianto was out there right now, possibly getting hurt or even blown to bits and Jack couldn't do anything to help him. The thought drove him close to insanity although with his captain's mask in place no one would know to look at him.

He hated this. Hated being on the sidelines forced to sit out of the fighting. How had Ianto been able to stand this when he'd first joined Torchwood? Well back then he'd had Lisa to worry about and look after but what about after she was gone? He hadn't gone straight out on missions with them; there had been a while there where he'd had to stay behind. How had he not gone insane?

Jack sighed internally. Getting all worked up wasn't helping anyone, least of all Ianto. Besides, every moment Jack spent worrying about what was going on outside, the closer he got to his captain mask breaking down and revealing his panic to the rest of the people surrounding him. No, he was not going to do that. He'd promised Ianto that he would be waiting for him and he was going to do it with some dignity.

He silently prayed to anyone who could hear him that Ianto made it out of the battle in one piece. If Jack lost him again … his captain mask nearly crumbled and he had to bite back a sob that rose within his chest. He couldn't dwell on this now, he'd promised Ianto he'd be waiting and he would be in some sort of decent, respectable manner…he would.

"Ianto's not going to care what kind of state you're in Jack." The gentle voice from behind him was one he didn't recognise and he turned around to find a pair of orchid eyes looking down at him warmly.

"Who are you?" he asked quietly.

"I'm the Lady," she replied just as quietly.

Jack immediately remembered Lisa and Allira talking about the Lady earlier and how he'd saved Ianto from the corrupt elders of the Eternal Kingdom.

"Lady, thank you for saving Ianto."

The Lady smiled at him kindly. "Believe me it was my absolute pleasure. He's a good man and so are you; you deserve some happiness in your life."

Jack shook his head. "I'm not that good, Lady," he disagreed.

"Yes you are, Jack. I know you, inside and out. I know who you are, what you've done, where you've been, I know it all. You are a good man, Captain Jack Harkness and that's why I'm here."

Jack looked back at her puzzled and she moved to sit beside him on the chair.

"I have something I want to offer to you and the Doctor and it's up to you whether or not you want to accept. Before I do that however, I can see the questions burning in your mind and I want to answer some of them for you."

Jack's mind was full of questions, which ones exactly was she going to answer? Not that he minded, any answers were better than none but he was definitely curious.

"Before I begin though." The Lady's eyes glowed bright silver and from the corner of his eye, Jack saw the Doctor look up from the console he'd been studying and turn to face the pair, a shocked expression painted on his face. He saw the moment his eyes fell on the Lady and the look of shock was replaced by happiness and disbelief.

"Lady," he gasped.

"Doctor," she replied.

One moment they were staring at each other, the next the Doctor had her wrapped up in his arms.

She held him back, a happy smile lighting up her face. "Hello brother," she greeted softly.

"Hello, sister," the Doctor replied, happy tears shining in his bright brown eyes. "It's absolutely brilliant to see you."

"You too," she replied, pulling back and giving her brother a warm smile.

The Doctor smiled back. "I…I don't know what to say…I'm lost for words, that's not a normal thing for me."

"I know believe me," she replied. "But it's okay, you don't have to say anything. I love you and I missed you, there, I said it for you. I missed you too and I love you more."

The Doctor laughed and allowed the Lady to take his hand and lead him over to the seat Jack was currently occupying.

She sat herself between them and took both the Doctor's hands in hers. "I know this must be incredibly overwhelming for you, especially considering all that's happened to you over the last few years. But I want to tell you what happened to us after Gallifrey was destroyed; I want to explain what's going on, to both of you." She turned to Jack for a moment before turning her attention back to the Doctor. "And as I've just been saying to Jack, I want to offer you both something that I think will make you very happy. But first things first," She released both of his hands and held hers together in front of her. A bright sphere of light glowed to life before her and within it Jack saw the story of the Eternal kingdom.

"When it was over the Doctor turned a curious look on the Lady. "You left the universe?"

"That's right," she replied.

"Where did you go?" he asked.

"We went into the time vortex, brother; the place where all life first began and where all life must eventually return. We belong there and it welcomes us. One day all species will achieve enlightenment as we have and they will join us, we have seen it."

The Doctor nodded. Jack could tell there was a lot more he wanted to ask but for once the time lord was silent.

"So the council, the guardians; you made all of that?" the Doctor asked.

The Lady nodded. "Indeed we did. We used the old system of caste that used to exist on Gallifrey all those centuries ago. Of course there have been a few tweaks. There had to be in order for other species to join us. But for the most part the casts remain the same," she explained.

"Casts?" Jack asked curious.

"When Gallifrey was a younger planet, our people were split into casts. Not like masters and slaves or anything of the sort, we were split by our professions; our chosen fields of study that kind of thing. Each caste was represented by a different colour," the Lady explained. "If you were a soldier you wore one colour if you were a scientist you wore another, that kind of thing. Eventually Gallifrey chose to rise above such casts but it wasn't a bad system while it was in place, we just outgrew it I suppose you could say."

"But you chose to adopt it when you built the eternal kingdom?" Jack asked.

"Yes, once the kingdom was built we decided it best to return to that system as it seemed a better idea with the other species joining us. There was a lot more colour in it too, I missed the colours," the Lady explained.

"I would never have guessed," the Doctor joked, indicating the Lady's rainbow toned dress and wings.

She pulled a face at him, something very funny for a time lord in Jack's opinion.

"So, I heard Allira and Lisa mentioning sentinels and sorcerers before. I've got to admit I'm a little curious to understand what they were talking about." Jack mentioned.

"Before Gallifrey became quite so peace loving we had soldiers of sorts, each discernable by a colour just like the rest of the casts. The Sentries are basic soldiers, skilled in hand to hand combat and weapons. They remain in the eternal kingdom at all times and are easily picked by the lovely chocolate brown colour they wear. The sentinels are sentries who have been trained in the use of some spells, not too many just basic things. They are the ones we usually send with the members of other casts who go off world for one reason or another and might need protection. They are also the guards of the Eternal Prison as you may have heard Lisa mentioning earlier. They are always wearing crimson which is how you spot them."

"So Lisa is a sentinel?" Jack asked.

The Lady nodded. "Yes, a very good one at that."

"And Ianto, he's a guardian I think I heard someone say?" Jack asked.

The Lady nodded. "The guardians are out elite soldiers, trained in all forms of combat, all forms of magic, all known forms of diplomacy and all languages of which we are aware. They are the ones we send to investigate disturbances on other planets, demon sightings, anything dangerous. As you've seen on Ianto they are always in that lovely forest green."

"So is that why Ianto's eyes aren't blue anymore?" Jack asked. "I noticed Tosh's weren't her normal colour anymore either and were Lisa's red or was I imagining it?"

"No you weren't, Lisa's eyes are definitely red. When someone becomes part of a certain cast, not only do they wear that casts colour, their eyes and their wings also take on that colour as well as their energy," the Lady replied.

"Their energy?" the Doctor asked.

"You would have seen Ianto's eyes glowing earlier and any injuries he may have sustained during the battle with Cessilus would have been the same colour. Those of us that exist in the eternal kingdom no longer have blood running through our veins, but rather energy of sorts. If you get close enough to feel for a pulse you'll find that our hearts still beat, but it's energy that's being pumped around our bodies, not blood. Everything we ingest, be it food or liquid is converted into energy within our bodies much the same way as the human body does it, except that there is no waste to excrete. It's a far more efficient system really. The energy helps our bodies to function as well as acting as protection if need be. The sorcerers and the guardians need more energy than most as the use theirs far more often than the other casts," the Lady explained.

Both men nodded in understanding.

"So what about the sorcerers, what colour do they wear?" Jack asked.

"Pink." The lady replied, motioning to where Katie was standing over at one of the TARDIS consoles. "They are spell casters as you can probably already guess. They are trained in all forms of magic and their energy is more potent than any other cast that resides in our kingdom. As I previously mentioned, the guardians are also trained in all forms of magic, but if you asked a sorcerer and a guardian to cast the same spell, the sorcerer's would be stronger."

"So Katie's a sorcerer?" Jack asked.

"That's right," the Lady replied

"What about Tosh and Owen? They looked normal before except for the whole glowing white, wearing robes kind of thing, why are they different now?" Jack asked.

The Lady looked at Jack for a moment, a touch of concern on her face, before she answered. "As I understand it, Owen and Tosh explained to you earlier about how when you die you're given a choice?"

Jack nodded.

"Well, they were given that choice just like everyone else. Originally they chose to live out their life of bliss before being reborn. Tommy and Katie had been serving the kingdom while they waited for them to arrive and once they got there, the pair of them intended to give up their duties and live out their life of bliss with them. That's another option you have when you die. If you want to wait for someone else before you start your life of bliss you can serve the kingdom temporarily until they arrive. You can't achieve the same level of power as you could if you were a permanent member of the kingdom but it gives you something to do while you wait."

"Anyway, as I was saying, originally Owen and Tosh were going to live out their lives of bliss with Katie and Tommy before being reborn into new lives. Ianto, as you know chose to serve the kingdom so he could stay as himself and find a way back to you. When you and the Doctor were captured and Ianto came out looking for you, Toshiko and Owen knew that he might need help so they followed, even though their leaving the eternal kingdom as actually considered a worse crime than Ianto leaving without orders. When Allira brought them back they were facing a serious punishment and she knew that. She also knew how important they were to Ianto so she hid them away from the council as best she could and was intending to find a way to sneak them back into the spirit world before the council found out they were there."

"I'm guessing it didn't turn out that way?" The Doctor asked.

The Lady shook her head. "No, after I arrived and found out what Ianto had done and what the council was intending to do to him as punishment, I freed him and sent him off to a room to recover for a bit before I talked to him. I dealt with the head elder and had them all pardoned before I went back to Ianto and had my talk with him. What our talk was about you'll find out later; I know you're both curious. Anyway, just as Ianto and I were about to head down here to find Donna, Tosh, Owen, Katie and Tommy came to see us and asked if they could change their minds about being reincarnated. They had decided that they wanted to stay on and serve the kingdom so I granted their wishes and they chose the caste they wanted to belong to."

"Owen is a healer just like he was on earth and all the healers wear blue so hence he's in blue. Toshiko is a scientist like she was on earth and they wear orange. Katie was already a sorceress and Tommy was already a sentinel so they continued on with their previous positions in a more permanent manner." The Lady continued.

"But I don't understand, why? Why would they give up their life of bliss, why would they give up the rest of their incarnations?"

"Because we wanted to," the sound of Tosh's voice made Jack look up to find Toshiko, Owen and Katie standing not far from the chair he was in, looking down at him and the Lady.

"How is the weapon going?" The Lady asked.

"Almost done, the others are just finishing with the calibrations and it'll be ready to go." Tosh replied.

The Lady nodded.

"Why, Tosh?" Jack asked, still curious about her previous words.

"Because we realized that we aren't ready to let go of ourselves," Tosh replied. "When we first got up there we thought it would be great to live a happy, blissful life and then be reborn in another body, hopefully somewhere happy and free of danger. Then, when Ianto left, we finally realized what reincarnation would mean. Not only would we lose ourselves; our memories, our experiences, our identities. We'd also lose each other, all the people we'd come to care for, everything we'd spent our lives fighting for. We could be reborn anywhere, anytime, any planet and there would be no guarantees that we would be happy or that we would ever find each other again."

"We'd been up there for a while before Ianto joined us, you'd think we would have worked it out earlier but we didn't," Owen continued. "The moment Ianto applied to undertake the guardian training we all knew what would eventually happen. We knew he'd leave and potentially get himself into a lot of trouble meaning that we'd never see him again, but it didn't really sink in until he actually left."

"We missed him, and yes I know how odd it sounds to say that Owen missed Ianto but he did, we all did." Toshiko picked up the story once more. "With Ianto gone we started to really think about reincarnation and what it would mean and we realized that it wasn't what we wanted. We wanted to stay together, all of us, Ianto, Derrek, Lisa. We wanted to see Gwen's baby and the new hub in person. We wanted to be able to look down on the earth and know that we saved it so many times and…we wanted to see you, Jack. Talk to you, laugh with you, pull ridiculous jokes on each other like we used to. Working for Torchwood gave us a bond that most people never experience, and you made that happen, Jack. You brought us together and gave us something to live for when we had nothing else; we're not going to throw that away."

Jack looked down; he didn't know whether to feel flattered or guilty. He felt guilty for their deaths, all of them, and now, not only had Ianto given up his chance at a happy life to come back to Jack but so had the rest of them in one way or another.

"When are you going to stop blaming yourself for everything that happens?" The Lady's question made him look up at her once more. "You're always too hard on yourself, both of you are." She turned her attention to the Doctor for a moment before turning back to address Jack. "Eventually it has to stop. Ianto loves you, Jack. Honestly and truly loves you. He gave up his right to a life of bliss and all his future incarnations to be with you but it's not something to feel guilty about, it's something to cherish. Not many people find love like that, or the loyalty you both inspire in others. These people care about you, Jack, just like your companions care about you." She turned her attention to the Doctor once more. "You give them an experience that they would never have if they didn't meet you, and, Jack, you gave these people something so amazing in life that they want to continue holding on to it afterwards. See these gifts for what they truly are. You're both incredible people and everyone else knows it, it's time you realized it too."

The Doctor looked down.

Jack looked up at Tosh and Owen.

The pair smiled back at him, true warmth sparkling in their eyes and Jack couldn't help smiling back at them.

"We missed you, Jack." Toshiko said quietly.

"I missed you too, both of you," he replied.

Tosh came forward and gave him a hug.

Jack held her back. "It's really good to see you both, I'm so glad to see you happy."

Tosh pulled away and gave him another warm smile. "We are happy, now that we know we're not all going to be separated."

Jack smiled back and for a moment they just grinned at each other.

"Miss Sato, the weapon is finished," One of the scientists who'd come along with Tosh and Katie called out.

"We'd best get back to it then. I'll talk to you soon." Tosh gave Jack a gentle peck on the cheek before heading back over to the TARDIS console to inspect the weapon, Owen and Katie close behind.

"So, now you've heard from your team, Jack, and, Doctor, I know Jack has already spoken to you about your previous companions. He's right by the way so I hope you listened to him," the Lady spoke once more.

The Doctor nodded. "I did, yes."

"Good, now that's all taken care of it's time to get down to why I'm here. I have something to offer to you both, and I want you to consider my words carefully before you make your decision all right?"

The Doctor and Jack both nodded their understanding and the Lady stood up and turned so she was facing them both.

"While Ianto was in the council chamber being informed of his punishment for breaking the rules, he said something about the pair of you that caught my attention. He spoke about how you're always saving the universe and no one ever really appreciates it or thanks you for it. He said that the universe owed you both a great dept, and I agree with him. So I'd like to offer you both, a gift of sorts, and as previously stated it's up to you whether or not you want to accept because an unwanted gift is a pointless gift. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Lady." The two men answered in unison, both dying to know what she was talking about.

"Okay, let's see, where to begin?" The Lady thought about it for a moment before turning her attention to Jack. "Ianto gave up his resurrection because he wanted to be with you, Jack." She turned her attention to the Doctor then. "And Donna gave up her human life because she wanted to be with you, Doctor. While the feelings are not quite the same, the overall desire definitely is; they want to be with you for as long as they can. Now, previously, Donna and Ianto had the issue of being human and only having a limited life; therefore having to face the fact that they would eventually die and leave you alone. In the end, Ianto did die and Donna may as well have and I know how hard it was for you to lose them."

The Lady knelt down in front of Jack and took his face gently in her hands. "I know that no matter what anyone says or thinks of you, Jack, or what you might think of yourself, you have never loved anyone like you love Ianto, and you never will."

Jack looked into the Lady's orchid eyes for a moment, caught by what he saw within their depths. When she said that he would never love another like he loved Ianto she wasn't being sweet or romantic like a human would have been; she was simply telling the truth. She had seen it, all of it, every possibility, every twist and turn Jack's life could take and she knew with absolute certainty, that it was true.

So did Jack.

He didn't answer, he knew he didn't have to; she could see his acceptance of her words as clear as day in his mind.

She smiled at him and pulled away turning her attention to the Doctor. She didn't grab him like she had with Jack, she simply stood up turned her gaze to meet his.

"And I know that no matter how much you loved Rose, you never felt quite right about you and her. In fact the only companion you were ever truly happy with was Donna because all you've ever wanted out of a companion was an honest and true friend and she was more than willing to be exactly that."

As with Jack the Lady didn't need an answer from the Doctor so she continued on, addressing both of them once more. "I know how much these people matter to you, I know how much you want them in your lives, so what I'm offering to you both is exactly that. Ianto Jones and Donna Noble to spend the rest of your lives with and when I say the rest of your lives, I mean it."

Jack was stunned into silence and when he turned to look at the Doctor he saw that he wasn't the only one.

It was the Doctor that got over his shock first. "But they're human."

"Well technically Ianto's a guardian and like Cessilus told you earlier he can't die again so I won't have to do much to him in order to keep my word to Jack. Donna is human but that's only a minor glitch when you're me." The Lady replied with an 'I'm absolutely brilliant' grin that reminded Jack far too much of the Doctor. "A few minor alterations to her DNA, maybe give her another heart she'll be right to go. I've made some temporary alterations to her brain already as you can probably tell by the fact that she's over there fixing a console." She motioned to Donna who was over at one of the TARDIS consoles doing just that. "It wouldn't take much to make those alterations permanent and all gorffen." The Lady finished with a flourish of her hands.

Jack looked at the Lady curiously.

"It's the Welsh word for finished, or as close as you can get to it." The Doctor explained to him.

Jack nodded in understanding.

The Lady shook her head at him. "I can't believe you still don't know any Welsh. In any case, changing Donna and Ianto is the easiest part of all of this so you needn't worry about that."

"How do Ianto and Donna feel about this?" Jack asked

"Thrilled," the Lady replied. "It's what they want. Oh, there are a few things I do need to explain to you both before we go any further though."

"What's that old saying, there's always a catch?" Jack asked.

The Lady made a face at him. "Well yes and no, I don't think catch is always the right word. In this case I wouldn't refer to it as a catch more of a helpful measure."

"Okay, what is the helpful measure?" Jack asked.

"In order for me to make all of this work out, you'd all have to undergo a binding ritual," she replied.

"What's that?" Jack asked curious.

"It's exactly what it sounds like," the Doctor replied. "Basically it's the Gallifrey equivalent of marriage just a lot more complex. You don't just exchange vows and rings you are physically bound to each other mind, body and soul. You feel everything they feel physically and emotionally, when you touch them you can hear their thoughts and impressions, you can communicate with them telepathically no matter how far away they are, you know where they are and what they're doing at all times and if they die so do you."

"There is also an exchange of memory that takes place during the night after the ceremony while you dream and you cannot lie to each other, not ever." The Lady added.

"So Ianto would know everything about me? Like everything, everything?" Jack asked terribly afraid of what that would mean. He'd done some horrible things in his life and as much as Ianto had always been forgiving when it came to Jack's flaws in the past, Jack wasn't sure the same would still apply if Ianto knew everything.

The Lady nodded. "That's right. But if it makes you feel better he already knows everything about you. One of the interesting things about being up in the eternal kingdom is having the capacity to watch the lives of those we knew while we were alive. It's as easy as turning on a screen and asking it to show you what you want to see."

"Isn't that a little invasive?" The Doctor asked.

"Maybe," the Lady replied. "But usually, once you're dead you're never going to see those people again so what harm can there come from it?"

"That's kind of true I suppose," the Doctor agreed.

"So Ianto watched my life?" Jack asked.

The Lady nodded. "Every second of it."

Jack just stared at the wall of the TARDIS for a moment while he let that information sink in. Finally he looked at the Lady with a blank expression and asked. "And he still wants to be with me?"

"Yes," the Lady replied.

"Is he crazy?"

The Lady laughed. "No, Jack he's not crazy, he just loves you."

Jack looked down. "I know he does, I just don't know why."

"What about Donna?" the Doctor interrupted.

"What about her?" the Lady asked.

"That would mean she'd know everything about me too."

"And the problem with that would be?" the Lady asked.

"There's bad there, sister. You know that as well as I do I don't want Donna seeing that."

"You've been alive for a long time, Doctor. Donna's not so naive as to think that all of that time was spent singing and dancing. What you have to understand, both of you, is this. Donna and Ianto know you. They've seen your flaws, they know that everything's not always going to be shiny and rosy and they love you all the same. Once again it's not the same kind of love but love is still love even between friends. Your past doesn't dictate who you are. There may be darkness in your past but everyone has that in some measure. What's important is learning from the bad, growing from it and not allowing yourselves to make the same mistakes. They know that, you need to know that too. Ianto loves you, Jack, loves YOU, not what you could be or what you used to be but you, right now. And Doctor, all Donna ever wanted was to be with you on the TARDIS forever. That hasn't changed and it's not going to."

The Lady took one of their hands and gave it a gentle squeeze. "They know what they're getting themselves into, they know what it means to share your existence; this is what they want. The decision falls to you now. Is there anything else you want to ask me?"

"Can we keep anything to ourselves?" Jack asked.

"Well, you can share thoughts and when you touch the telepathic link will activate so he'll see what you're thinking about but I suppose you could just not think about whatever it is while you're touching him. Why would you want to keep secrets from him Jack?" the Lady asked concerned.

"Haven't you ever bought anybody a present before?" Jack asked in return. "Or organised a surprise party or anything like that? It kind of ruins the surprise if you can't keep the information secret."

The Lady nodded. "Ah, that I can understand."

"The changes that you'd have to make to Donna and Ianto, would it hurt them?" The Doctor asked.

"No, none of you will be aware of anything," the Lady replied.

"None of us?" Jack asked curiously.

"Oh yes, sorry I forgot to mention, I'll be altering you both a little as well. Nothing too major just reversing your ages a little."

"What?" both men asked in unison.

"Well, I didn't want to cheat Donna out of spending as much time as she could with you, Doctor so I'm going to reverse your age a little so you have more than one regeneration left. Don't worry you'll still look like you do now. As for you, Jack, your young lover is exactly that, young and while I'm not saying you're old by any means, both of you are going to age as the years go by so I figured it would be nice if you could age at the same rate. Consequently I'm going to reverse your physical age to match Ianto's and don't worry I know what you're thinking, you're not going to lose any memories."

Jack sat back for a moment taking it all in. He'd never wanted to get married again but this was different, this was someone who could be with him forever, never wilting and dying, never getting sick or injured. Someone even more indestructible than himself if what everyone kept saying was true. If Jack was being truly honest with himself it all sounded wonderful. The Lady was right he did love Ianto, more than he'd ever loved anyone and he knew Ianto loved him too. What worried him was how much those feelings might change after a few thousand years. What if they fell out of love, what then? They'd still be bound to each other completely and totally, how would they cope with that?

"It won't happen." The Lady's voice drew his attention. "One of the side effects of the binding ritual is that you can never fall out of love with your partner. In fact the longer you live the stronger it becomes and in your case that will be very strong indeed."

Jack looked at her for a moment surprised. "Really?" he asked

The Lady nodded. "It's odd actually, it was never something we intended to be part of the ritual, it was a glitch that happened on its own but it was a good one. You will love that man until the end of time and nothing and no one will ever change that. Believe me that's the last thing you need to be concerned about."

Jack and the Doctor looked at each other in consideration for a moment before the Lady spoke again.

"As I said before this decision is entirely up to you. If what I am offering will make you happy then all you have to do is say the word and it's yours. If it won't, I will find another way to take care of Ianto and Donna but I will make sure they are happy. It's all on you now, take all the time you need. When you're ready to give me your answer just call, I'll be around." She gave them both a gentle kiss on the forehead and a warm smile before disappearing in a flash of rainbow-coloured light.

The two men sat together in silence for a few moments before turning to face each other, concerned looks in their eyes.

"So, what do we do?" Jack asked.

end of chapter 7

So what did we think??? Please review and let me know. Once again big thanks go to Socalrose for being such an incredible beta. Hope you enjoyed the update.


	9. How do you decide what's right?

Hi all, how are we going?? I finally got my results back from UNI and I've passed my first year YAY!!!!! Anyway back on topic, here's the newest chapter of Fallen angel. We're almost at the end now, not long to go!!! So PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!! I really want to know if you're enjoying it and what you think plus I just love them!!

Ok so onto the chapter. Special thanks go to the lovely Socalrose who has been a such a wonderful hard working Beta. Thank you honey!!!! I also feel it important to mention that a special guest monster will be appearing in this chapter upon request of Tylluan. I hope you enjoy what I've done with him he he he!! Ok here we go, enjoy.

WARNING major fluff ahead!!

**Chapter 8 How do you decide what's right?**

Moments after the Lady had gone a massive explosion rocked the TARDIS throwing all her occupants to the floor. Jack and the Doctor exchanged questioning glances before Jack heard Tosh ask, "Is it over?"

"I think it might be," Owen replied.

Jack immediately pushed himself up off the floor and climbed to his feet pulling the Doctor up with him. Together they moved over to look at the TARDIS console that the others had been watching earlier.

"What's happening?" Jack asked Tosh who was once more perched in front of the screen.

"We're pretty sure that blast was our bomb being detonated. Unfortunately it seems to have thrown off all the TARDIS external sensors so we can't see what's going on outside," Tosh replied.

"Let me see if I can fix that." The Doctor leant around Tosh and began fiddling with the buttons and levers under the screen.

The entire group jumped when the TARDIS doors opened and they looked up, half eager, half afraid to see who was there. Two glowing, forest green eyes appeared in the darkness of the hub gazing into the TARDIS.

Jack felt his heart leap into his throat as Ianto stepped inside the TARDIS in all his angelic glory. Just like the first time Jack had seen him during the fight with Cessilus his outer clothes were all but gone leaving him with only his armour which was sliced open in several places on his legs and hung in tatters around his chest and mid section. His skin had been sliced open in several places but they were minor injuries and Jack could see the bright forest green energy healing them up already. Aside from those and a few deeper gashes on his chest Ianto was unharmed.

Jack watched as Ianto scanned the interior of the TARDIS stopping only when his sharp, green eyes settled on Jack. Jack held his gaze for a moment transfixed. Ianto was okay, he'd made it! Before Jack even thought about moving, he found himself striding across the TARDIS to stand before his beautiful Welshman. As soon as he was close enough Jack threw his arms around Ianto and held the young guardian tightly. Somewhere in the back of his mind Jack wondered if he was crushing Ianto's wings. Then Ianto's arms slid around his waist and he didn't care anymore.

He was vaguely aware of Tosh running past them to throw her arms around Tommy; otherwise, as far as Jack was concerned, the only people that existed in that moment were him and Ianto.

---

Jack stared at the glass jar in front of him. It was small; barely the size of one of those ornamental spinny clock thingeys that old people always had in their houses and inside it was…

"Abaddon?" Jack asked studying the jar more closely.

"Abaddon," Tosh replied.

"Ha," was all Jack could think to say right at that moment.

"When he came out of the rift with the others something went a little wrong and, well, this was the end result," Tosh explained. "Short of nibbling at your toes there's nothing much he can really do while he's this small. Except maybe kill bugs; I mean his shadow might be big enough for that."

"What are you going to do with him?" Jack asked.

"I don't really know. We could leave him here, he could be the Hub's mascot," Tosh suggested causing Jack to laugh.

"Well yeah he could kill any bugs that happen to cross his path," Jack replied still laughing. The two of them shared a quick chuckle before Jack composed himself once more and asked. "It's not going to get any bigger is it?"

Tosh shook her head. "No, he rematerialized this way so he'll stay this way. The only way he could get any bigger is if he found his way back into the demon realm somehow which is exactly what this jar is designed to prevent."

Jack frowned in concentration. "Well as long as he poses no threat to the Earth I guess you could always ask Gwen if she wants to keep him here. Hang on a minute, is Gwen even in charge of the hub now?" he asked.

Tosh shook her head. "No, Martha took over Torchwood while Gwen was on maternity leave with baby Owen," she replied.

Jack arched an eyebrow at the young woman. "What?" he asked in disbelief.

"That's what Gwen named her baby. She wanted to call him Jack but Rhys said no," Tosh elaborated.

"That I can understand," Jack replied. "Still, Owen? After everything that happened between her and Owen that's the last thing I expected her to call her baby."

Tosh shrugged. "Maybe she's hoping he'll be a doctor."

The sound of laughter brought Jack's attention to an area near the TARDIS door where Owen and a group of healers were checking over the angels before sending them back to where they came from. Right at that moment he was checking over Ianto while two other healers took care of Lisa and Derrek. It was the three of them whose laughter had caught Jack's attention.

"I'm telling you it was 25," he heard Ianto saying after the laughter had died down.

"No way, you're making that up," Lisa argued.

"I am not a liar, Miss Hallett, of that you are well aware. I won fair and square, deal with it," Ianto countered with a grin.

"I demand a recount," Derrek announced causing the three of them to burst into laughter once more.

Jack felt a twinge of guilt as he watched the three of them talking and laughing together like that. Even though Ianto had become part of the team after the whole incident with Lisa he never had this kind of relaxed, friendly relationship with them; he'd always kept himself so closed off. Now here he was, smiling and laughing with his friends like a young person ought to be and Jack knew that if he agreed to the Lady's offer, Ianto would lose not just Lisa for a second time, but Derrek too. These people obviously made him happy; did Jack really have the right to separate them? He'd already separated Ianto and Lisa once, was it really right to do it again?

"Alright, Ianto, you're all done," Jack heard Owen announced.

Ianto threw the healer a grateful smile. "Thank you, Owen," Ianto said.

"Remember what I said before, three days at least," Owen reminded him.

Ianto grinned at Owen and agreed before turning to say goodbye to Lisa and Derrek. They both gave him a hug and a warm smile before he reached forward to press a gentle kiss to Lisa's cheek.

The gesture made Jack's heart ache and he looked away, the guilt swamping his even more. This wasn't right. Ianto loved Lisa, he should be with her, up in the Eternal Kingdom living out a blissful life like he deserved. Jack couldn't doom the Welshman to spend eternity walking the universe with him, it was cruel.

He blinked back the tears which burned in his eyes but he couldn't push aside the overwhelming sadness that filled his being at the thought of losing Ianto again. So after making sure no one was watching him he turned around and disappeared out of the TARDIS' main area and into the corridor that led to the observation room. He knew was going to break down soon and he wanted to be alone when he did.

--

Ianto finished saying his goodbyes to Lisa and Derrek and waved them off as they headed back to the Eternal Kingdom to make their reports to the Lady. Ianto smiled happily to himself, they'd done it. Cessilus was gone, along with a whole horde of other demons and the Doctor and Jack were safe again. His smile grew even wider as he thought about how close he was to finally having everything he'd ever wanted. Of course it was all dependent on the answer Jack gave the Lady but Ianto didn't want to dwell on the what- if's right now, he just wanted to be happy. And speaking of happy…

Ianto turned to look back at where Jack had been talking to Tosh just a few moments ago but the Captain was gone. Concerned, Ianto scanned the rest of the TARDIS' main room and finding no sign of Jack his concern grew into worry.

"Are you all right, Mr. Jones?"

He looked around to find the Doctor standing beside him looking concerned.

"Have you seen Jack?" Ianto asked.

The Doctor frowned. "No not since you got back, I've been over there with Donna making repairs on the TARDIS. Why, can't you find him?"

Ianto shook his head. "No, I didn't see where he went. It's okay though, I can locate him easily enough if I send my senses out to scan the interior of the TARDIS I'm just worried about why he might have disappeared, particularly since you don't know anything about it," he replied.

The Doctor looked confused.

"Last time Jack disappeared on me he hitched a ride on the side of your TARDIS," Ianto explained.

"Ah, right, that time," the Doctor looked down, a slightly guilty look in his brown eyes.

Normally Ianto would have introduced himself, shaken the other man's hand, told him that he didn't blame him for Jack disappearing and thanked him for keeping an eye on Jack after he died. Right now though, he was too concerned about Jack to think about any of that.

"I'm going to look for him," he informed the time lord before heading into one of the quiet TARDIS corridors and sending his senses out in search of Jack. As soon as his mind brushed against the Captain's he felt the overwhelming pain Jack was in and his worry increased. He worked out which direction and made his way down the corridor as quickly as he could.

Why would Jack be in so much pain? What could have happened to cause it? Ianto knew he could find out easily enough but he felt bad digging into Jack's mind like that. Somehow however, the pain suddenly seemed to get even worse and Ianto couldn't stand it anymore. He searched through Jack's thoughts for the cause and what he found made his heart break.

He finally reached the stairs that lead up to the observation area and took them two at a time until he reached the top. The scene which met him brought tears to his eyes; Jack was in the far corner of the observation area, curled up on what appeared to be a very large bean bag, sobbing. Pain radiated from him like heat from a flame and the closer Ianto got to him the stronger it became.

He reached Jack's side and slowly lowered himself down next to the sobbing Captain. When Jack gave no indication that he was aware of Ianto's presence, Ianto lay down on his side so he was face to face with Jack and reached out to gently stroke his Captain's hair. He felt Jack stiffen in surprise but he didn't move his hands away from his face.

"Jack, look at me, please," he asked quietly. When Jack didn't respond Ianto leaned closer and whispered, "Please, cariad."

The only reply he got was more sobbing; Ianto sighed and pulled the Captain into his arms. Jack made a feeble attempt to block him but with his hands covering his eyes there wasn't much he could really do. Soon Ianto had one arm holding Jack tightly to him while the other gently stroked the Captain's hair.

Jack remained curled up in a ball for another ten seconds before uncurling and wrapping his body around Ianto's burying his face in Ianto's neck.

"It's okay, Jack, I'm here. I'm not going anywhere, not now, not ever" Ianto soothed. "What you're thinking, about me and Lisa isn't right. Yes I loved her and I always will in some small way, just like you'll always love Estelle and Rose. But, Jack, Lisa and I both know we were never meant to be. She belongs with Derrek and I belong with you, the way things were always supposed to be.

I fought my way back here for you, Jack. It took a lot of work and there were so many times when I was sure I would never see you again but I kept going. I'd watch you from up there, see you sad and lonely and lost and it would kill me inside that I couldn't come down here and tell you that I was fighting so hard to get back to you.

I nearly gave up so many times, thinking what I was doing was stupid and pointless. So many people told me you'd move on soon enough and all the effort would have been for nothing, but I just couldn't let you go. I love you, Jack so much you have no idea, and even though I knew you may never love me back for one reason or another I still fought to get back to you. It didn't matter if you never loved me, as long as I could be where you were."

Ianto felt tears slip down his face and normally he would have brushed them aside but he was just too exhausted to care. Closing his eyes he buried his face in Jack's hair and took a deep breath, breathing in those beautiful 51st century pheromones.

"Mmm, I've missed your pheromones, Jack," he mumbled, tightening his grip on the Captain. After a few more minutes of savouring Jack's perfect scent Ianto whispered, "I want to be with you, I don't care where it is or what we're doing. I have never loved anyone this much and I never will. Without you everything I do is pointless and meaningless, my existence is empty and black. Everyone tells me that the Eternal Kingdom is such a beautiful place but without you there I can't see it."

When Jack still didn't answer Ianto did the only thing he could think of. Calling on one of the first powers Allira ever taught him, he closed his eyes and reached for Jack's mind. As soon as their minds touched he dropped the mental barriers surrounding his own consciousness and let Jack feel just how much he loved him.

He heard Jack gasp in surprise as his feelings washed over the Captain in soft, gentle waves. After a few moments he pulled back and opened his eyes.

Jack still had his face buried in Ianto's neck but he wasn't sobbing anymore.

Ianto pressed a soft kiss to the top of Jack's head before combing his fingers through the Captain's lovely dark hair once more. He was so tired, he just wanted to curl up next to his love and let the universe disappear for a few hours but he couldn't; not when he knew Jack was hurting. He took a deep breath, filling his senses with Jack's exquisite scent once more. God he'd missed that! He was about to ask Jack to talk to him when Jack finally spoke.

"I do love you, Ianto," he said quietly.

Ianto froze. Of course he knew that Jack loved him deep down; he'd seen it in the Captain's eyes right before Owen and the Doctor had hauled him out of Cessilus' throne room. He just hadn't expected Jack to say it out loud, not for a long, long time anyway.

"I'm so sorry I never told you before I just couldn't," Jack continued.

"I know," Ianto replied, "I never expected you to."

"But you wanted me to. I was just too selfish and scared to do it," Jack replied. "You want to know the worst bit about all this? When you were dying I could have said it back to you but I didn't and do you know why? Because people always say 'I love you' when they know they're going to die and then they hold on just long enough to hear it said back to them. I wanted you to hold on, Ianto, I wanted you to stay with me for as long as you could and I know how pathetically selfish that sounds and I'm sorry, Ianto. I'm so, so sorry, I really am."

Ianto felt more tears burning his eyes at the pain he heard in Jack's voice. "It's okay, Jack," he soothed. "I'm not upset with you."

"I know you're not, you never get upset with me. No matter what I do or how much I deserve it you just don't; and I don't know how you do it, Ianto, I don't know how you put up with me," Jack said, tightening his grip on Ianto.

Ianto smiled "Well what else can I say, Jack, you're just so damn pretty." Ianto was extraordinarily happy when Jack laughed at that.

"So you've told me," Jack replied.

"Yeah, me and half the galaxy," Ianto quipped eliciting another chuckle from Jack. He became serious once more and leant down to whisper in Jack's ear. "Please don't be upset, Jack. Whatever you might think of yourself I'm always going to love you. Nothing you do can change that and I'm not going away again, not unless you tell me that you honestly don't want me. I want to be where you are, that's all I want, particularly right now because I'm really tired and this bean bag thing is really comfortable."

Jack chuckled slightly. "Go to sleep then, Ianto," he said softly.

"Can't, you're upset," Ianto argued.

"I'm fine, really," Jack reassured him. "Go to sleep for a while, I'll join you."

"Promise?" Ianto asked.

"Yeah, I promise," Jack replied.

"Okay," Ianto agreed, moving around a little so he was comfortable before burying his face in Jack's hair once more.

They lay there for a few moments savouring the contact between them before Ianto felt himself drifting off to sleep. Just as he was dancing on the edge of unconsciousness he tightened his grip on his Captain. "Don't leave, please." It sounded like he was begging and he knew it did but he didn't care. He was still frightened that he was going to wake up and find Jack gone, a fear he'd never been able to shake, even in death. When he was alive he'd never said anything about it for fear of scaring Jack away, but now that he'd been away from Jack for so long he couldn't help it, he didn't want to lose him again.

"I won't, I promise," he heard the Captain answer just before sleep claimed him.

--

The Doctor pressed the last few buttons in the sequence he was working on and smiled to himself when the console beeped happily at him. Finally the sequence was almost complete, one more little calculation and he could send all the lost people back to their own times and focus on other things, like Donna.

The lady in question was over at another of the TARDIS consoles making repairs and talking to Martha and Mickey.

The Doctor didn't know what he was going to do about the Lady's offer yet. He wanted to agree, he really did, but he wouldn't, not until he'd had a chance to talk to Donna about it properly. He was about to go back to work when he noticed that Gwen, Owen and Tosh were still in the TARDIS talking about what they'd been up to recently. He didn't mind them being there until Gwen asked where Jack and Ianto had gone. He heard the others reply that they didn't know but they could find out and he decided that he had to do something. No doubt Jack and Ianto would be somewhere alone and wouldn't want to be disturbed. The Doctor was pretty sure Owen and Tosh understood, but Gwen's previous behaviour led him to believe she probably wouldn't and Jack and Ianto needed time alone together to talk.

"Gwen," he called out making his way over to the group. "I'm almost finished working everything out to send your guests home but I need them to be out of the TARDIS for everything to work. Would you please escort them to the room you had them all in before the attack?"

"Oh, but, where's Jack and Ianto, I wanted to see them," Gwen argued.

"Oh they're just taking care of something for me at the moment, I'm sure they'll be out to say hi soon enough, now off you go, lots to do." He herded her gently toward the corridor she'd lead the past guests down earlier.

She looked about to argue when Martha interrupted her and told her to do as the Doctor said. Gwen scowled at the other woman before making her way down the corridor, grumbling all the way.

While the Doctor waited for Gwen to fetch the past Torchwood personnel he turned to Martha and asked, "Martha, please stick around I need your help with something." Turning to the group Gwen was leading he said, "Everyone else, please follow Gwen back out into the Hub and I'll have you all home in no time."

Martha agreed while Gwen begrudgingly led the group out of the TARDIS, followed closely behind by Mickey, Owen and Tosh.

As soon as the door closed behind them Martha turned to the Doctor and gave him a bright smile. "So, Doctor what do you need me to do?" she asked.

"Right," the Doctor took Martha gently by the shoulders and led her back to the chair that he and Jack had been occupying during the battle. "I need you to sit right here and tell me what you've been up to since I saw you last," he replied before turning his attention back to his work.

"But, didn't you want me to do something?" Martha asked sounding confused.

"No no, we've got everything under control. In fact give us a few minutes and we'll be all done," the Doctor replied tapping on the console in front of him.

"So what was all that about before then?" Martha asked.

"Oh you know, the TARDIS was getting overcrowded, there were too many people around and I...just… wanted…to…get rid of Gwen," he confessed. "Now, out with it, what have you been doing?" he asked.

Martha could only laugh. "Oh well you know this and that, how about you?"

"Yeah about the same," the Doctor replied back.

"Been anywhere interesting lately?" Martha asked.

"Been to a few interesting bars," the Doctor replied causing Martha to raise an eyebrow in curiosity. Just then a note flashed up on the screen telling him that the sequence was complete and he raised his hands in victory. "Aha!! All done, let's get these people home."

"Wait Doctor, do you think maybe you could do me a favour?" Martha asked.

Curious about what she might possibly want the Doctor whirled around and gave her a questioning glance. "What?"

"Do you think maybe you could send them all back except the two who recruited Jack?" she asked.

The Doctor frowned. "Well of course I could but why would I want to? If they don't recruit Jack he'll never become part of Torchwood and the time line will be altered greatly."

"Oh no, I don't mean don't send them back at all. I just meant send the others back and give me a few moments with those two alone before you send them back," Martha clarified.

The Doctor's brow furrowed in confusion. "Why?" he asked.

Martha grinned. "Oh, there's just something I wanted to give them before they leave."

The Doctor was still confused and it showed.

With a sigh Martha made her way over to Donna and whispered in her ear.

The Doctor watched as an evil grin spread across Donna's face and when Martha pulled away she turned that grin on her and nodded. "Yeah, do that."

Martha returned her grin and the pair of them turned back to face the Doctor. "Make the alterations Doctor, you're gonna love this," Donna told him.

With a shake of his head he made his way back to the console and hit a few buttons. "Okay, the rest of the group will go all together, those two won't go until I hit this button." He pointed to a button on the console.

The two women grinned. "Okay, fire up the first sequence then tune your screen into the hub's conference room and watch," Martha told him before making her way out of the TARDIS.

The Doctor did as he was told and activated the first sequence. He then tuned the viewer into the hub's internal cam and watched as all in the group vanished aside from the two women who'd recruited Jack.

Donna slipped in beside him and together they watched as Martha walked in to the room and over to the two very disgruntled women.

"What is the meaning of this?" one of them demanded angrily. "Why weren't we sent back like everybody else?"

They watched as Martha gave the pair a friendly smile. "There's no need to worry, you ladies will be heading home in a moment; there was just one thing I wanted to give you both before you leave," Martha replied.

"Oh and what's that?" the other woman demanded.

Without another word Martha pulled her arm back and punched first one woman then the other in the nose. Not hard enough to break anything but hard enough to draw blood. They both fell to the floor holding their noses and Martha smiled pleasantly at them.

"That was for Jack! It's better than you deserve but unfortunately there are timelines to consider. Lovely meeting you both, have a nice trip." Martha said before turning and heading back out the door.

One of the women opened her mouth to argue but Donna hit the button the Doctor had pointed to earlier and they both disappeared.

"You've got to admit that was entertaining," Donna said giving the Doctor a grin.

"Yeah it was," the Doctor agreed turning off the screen.

A silence settled over the pair, neither of them sure of what to say. It was Donna that eventually broke the silence.

"The Lady spoke to you?" she asked quietly.

The Doctor turned to look at her but she was looking down at a console not meeting his eyes. "Yes," he replied.

"What are you going to do?" she asked her voice still barely above a whisper.

"I don't know," he replied honestly. "I wanted to see what you thought about it first."

"Didn't the Lady tell you already?" she asked.

"Yes she did, I'd rather hear it from you though. What do you want, Donna?" he asked softly.

"You know what I want, Doctor," she replied finally looking up at him. "I want to stay here, with you, on the TARDIS forever. I thought I made that clear last time."

"This would be different though, Donna. You could never have a normal life or a family, ever. You'd be, for all intents and purposes, married to me and the TARDIS for as long as I'm alive which could be thousands of years. You could never leave and go back to a normal life no matter how much you might want to, never marry properly, and never have children. On top of that you and I would be sharing everything, well, almost everything. You don't spend all that much time touching me so most of our thoughts would be kept to ourselves unless we really wanted to share them but everything I feel physically and emotionally you're going to feel. You'll be stuck with me for a long, long time, Donna, doesn't that bother you?" he asked.

"No, no it doesn't," Donna replied defiantly. "I don't want normal, Spaceman. I don't do normal well, I never have. I want adventure and fun and exploration. I want to see things no other human will ever get to see, to meet new people, to help them. You are my best friend, Doctor. You changed my life in so many ways, all of them good and I want that life back, I want to explore the stars again just like we used to. This is where I belong, I know it is and I want to stay, please don't make me go back. If you want me here as much as I want to be here then let me stay, let me be the companion that never leaves you."

"Are you sure, Donna? You have absolutely no doubts at all?" The Doctor asked.

"Yes I'm sure, Spaceman, I know what I want," she replied her eyes never leaving his.

Their gazes locked for a moment before a wide grin spread across the Doctor's face. "All right then," he said.

Donna's eyes lit up. "Really?" she asked excitedly.

"Yeah really," he replied. "The Ood said it the first time we met them, the Doctor Donna, they knew you were meant to be up there with me and so did I. There's nothing I'd like more than to spend the rest of my life showing you the stars. If you want to stay then you're staying."

Donna let out an excited squeal and threw her arms around him in a rib-squeezing hug.

The Doctor laughed and hugged her back just as tightly.

When they finally pulled away Donna quickly brushed a few tears away from her eyes and turned back to the console she'd been looking at earlier. "Okay so we're doing this."

"Yes we are," the Doctor replied with a grin.

'It's going to take a bit of getting used to, you know, being in your head," she said.

"Yeah, might be a bit weird but I'm sure we'll adapt," he replied.

"Of course we will," Donna told him with a smile.

Another moment passed as the Doctor retuned her smile with one of his own. He was happy, really happy. He was never going to be alone again and he liked the idea a lot. Unfortunately, that thought process made him think of Jack and the smile died almost instantly.

"What's wrong?" Donna asked the concern evident in her voice.

"Jack," the Doctor replied. "I'm worried about him. The Lady made him the same offer as me but I don't know if he'll be able to accept it and if he doesn't…" the Doctor trailed off looking down.

He looked up again as he felt Donna's hand on his arm.

"If he doesn't then we'll take care of him," she finished his sentence for him. "But I wouldn't worry too much yet. Ianto's a smart man and he knows Jack well, he'll talk him around."

"Yeah you're probably right, no point worrying about something that hasn't happened yet," the Doctor conceded.

"Of course I'm right, I'm always right," Donna replied with a grin.

"Oh really now?" the Doctor asked incredulously. "Says who?"

"Says me, and since I'm always right it must be true," Donna announced her grin growing wider.

The Doctor grinned back. "Oh, we are going to have so much fun together, Donna Noble,"

"Damn right we are. Starting with feeding you some cake or something else along those lines because you're still far too skinny," Donna replied.

"I am not too skinny!" the Doctor argued glaring at Donna.

"Yeah you are," Donna replied simply.

"I am not!"

"You are too!

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

--

End of Chapter 8. TBC

Ok so what did we think??? not long to go now. I know Jack has been a little unJack like during this story but I think everyone's entitled to a little moment of weakness every once in a while. And let's face it if you had Ianto then lost him like Jack did you'd be a little upset too!!!

PLEASE REVIEW PRETTY PLEASE!!!! I'll love you forever if you do. Tylluan, I hope you enjoyed Abaddon's Cameo just for you.

Love you all lots and lots.

Kayla.


	10. Love and Ceremonies

THIS IS THE FINAL CHAPTER YAY!!!!!!! OMG!!! I've finished my first story I'm so excited!!!! But there are some very important things I need to say. Firstly I received a review the other day mentioning that my story contradicts Jack and Suzie's descriptions about what happens when they die and I was meant to explain that during the course of the story but I didn't get a chance so I thought it best to explain now. Since the Eternal kingdom was created by the time lords and hell for lack of a better description was created by the Daleks and I believe them to be masters of understanding the flows of time, they would know if someone wasn't going to stay dead and would therefore not claim their soul since that person would then wake up and tell everyone what they'd seen. If I continue to write stories in this particular universe Suzie will make an appearance as a demon because I honestly believe that she was evil to start with. I hope that explains that.

The other thing I must say and PLEASE READ!! Not long ago I realized that I was having trouble with my new Firefox upgrade and none of my web pages were working properly. Unfortunately I have no way of knowing how long the problem was going on for but I eventually discovered that all my reviews I'd been writing and all my replies to my reviewers for this story weren't getting sent. Consequently, many of you who wrote me reviews for the chapters around the middle of the story may not have received my replies because I decided to write them personally rather than writing them in my next chapter. So if you wrote me a review and didn't get a reply **I'M SORRY!!!!!** I really appreciated all your reviews and I wasn't snobbing you I promise. Problem's all fixed now hopefully, I have Google Chrome instead, which makes me very sad because I used to love Firefox :(. Anyway once again **I'M SORRY, I'm SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!!!!!????? I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!**

**Okay enough grovelling hopefully. Lastly and very very importantly,** **this chapter is dedicated to Socalrose, the lovely creature that's been my beta for these last few chapters. I love you to bits honey, thank you so much!!!!!!!**

Anyhow I won't go on any longer except to say thank you so much for reading it's really appreciated. I hope you liked my story as much as I loved writing it. And **if you did like it PLEASE REVIEW** and let me know. I've got about another four Torchwood stories that I've started writing not to mention more from this universe that are currently in my head so if you liked this one please review and tell me and I'll post up some more!!! Kisses and hugs to all, you're such lovely people. Oh and I don't own Delta Goodrem's song that's in this chapter, but I love it to bits and there's a link at the bottom of the chapter if you haven't heard it before. Ok here we go last chapter.

**Love and Ceremonies**

Captain Jack Harkness opened his eyes and looked around him. Walls, weird lights, strange buzzing feeling in his head, someone out in the next room seemingly talking to himself…yep, he was still in the TARDIS. Something was different though; he didn't feel that horrible heart wrenching pain he'd been living with for the last 18 months or so. Why not? After wracking his brain for several moments, memories of the last few days slowly returned to him and he remembered exactly why not.

Had it really happened? Had Ianto really come back to him? Was his team really happy? Had the Lady really offered him the chance to spend eternity with Ianto? Had Abaddon really been in that tiny glass-jar? Without moving his gaze from the TARDIS walls he tentatively reached across to the other side of the bed searching for the soft, warm body of his Welshman.

When his hand found nothing but cold sheets he froze. No! It couldn't have all been a dream that wasn't possible. But if it was real, how had he ended up in his bed? He and Ianto had fallen asleep in the observation area how had he gotten back to his room? He sat up in his bed searching wildly around the room for any sign of Ianto. When he found nothing he felt himself beginning to panic. Oh, god, it had all been a dream! This wasn't fair!

'No!' he scolded himself mentally. 'Stop it, you're being a child!' He took a few deep breaths to calm himself before pushing the covers aside and making his way over into the bathroom. He ventured all the way into the room making entirely sure he wouldn't miss anything but there was still no sign of Ianto. Closing his eyes Jack fought against the panic that began to rise within him once more. The TARDIS was a big place, not to mention the fact that they were parked in the hub unless something had changed while he was out. Ianto could be in any number of places he just had to find him.

"Jack!"

He froze at the sound of Ianto's gorgeous voice calling his name. He took a deep calming breath before calling back. "Ianto?"

He heard footsteps moving through the bedroom and a moment later Ianto's extraordinarily beautiful face was peering through the doorway. "Hey, you're up, how are you feeling?" The Welshman asked with a warm smile.

He looked back at Ianto for a moment, taking in his appearance from his perfectly cropped, dark hair to the lovely forest green of his new appendages. Okay so he couldn't have been dreaming, or if he had been he still was. Either way relief flooded through his being so fast it made him dizzy and he had to close his eyes for a moment to regain his equilibrium.

"Jack are you okay?" he heard Ianto ask seconds before he felt soft hands gently grasping his arms.

Jack took a few deep breaths and once he felt a little more stable, he opened his eyes and found himself looking straight into Ianto's concerned green orbs. With greater care than he'd ever exercised in his life Jack reached up to gently cup Ianto's face in his hands. He stood there for what felt like hours, gazing into his Welshman's lovely green eyes, feeling his soft skin under his hands.

Ianto gazed back at him, his concern for Jack still obvious in his expression.

After a few more moments Jack slid his hands down from Ianto's face and around to his back, pulling the young guardian into a gentle embrace. He felt Ianto's arms wind around him in response, a gentle sigh escaping his lips as he buried his face in Jack's neck. After a few moments of holding his beautiful Welshman, Jack finally answered Ianto's question.

"I'm just fine," he said softly reaching one of his hands up to gently stroke Ianto's hair.

He felt Ianto relax against him and one of the Welshman's hands began to gently stroke the naked skin of Jack's back. A shiver of pleasure ran up Jack's spine and he heard Ianto chuckle quietly.

"I see some things haven't changed since I've been gone," the guardian whispered.

"And others really have," Jack replied a lot more seriously.

Ianto pulled back from the embrace just enough to be able to look in Jack's eyes. "What's changed for you, Jack?" he asked quietly.

Jack gazed back at the gorgeous man in front of him. The true meaning behind Ianto's question was written clearly in his eyes. Jack had had his freak out about their future last night after the battle. He'd broken down and sobbed (in a way that was very much unlike him and would most likely never be repeated) and Ianto had held him and soothed him and addressed his fears in a way that meant they would never be an issue for him again.

Now it was Ianto's turn to worry about their future and while he hadn't asked the question directly, Jack knew that what his Welshman really wanted to know was what he was going to say to the Lady. The day before, when the Lady had first made her offer to him and the Doctor, Jack honestly had no idea what he was going to say. He was worried and scared about what it would mean, not just for him, but for Ianto as well.

Could he be monogamous for the rest of eternity? The Lady had told him he'd have no problem and she was a time lord so chances were she was right but he'd still worried. Could he be a good partner to Ianto? That wasn't really something he could answer until he tried it for himself but he could definitely try. Most importantly, did he truly love Ianto or had he just thought so because he'd missed him so much?

He'd worried over these things after Ianto had fallen asleep beside him up in the observation area and had eventually drifted off himself without coming up with an answer. All of that changed a few minutes ago when he woke up and found Ianto gone from beside him. The sheer terror coursing through him at the thought of being without Ianto again coupled with the intense relief he felt seeing his beautiful Ianto walk through the door erased all his doubts. He loved this man and he wanted to be with him forever, he had never been surer of anything in his very long existence.

Bringing his hands back up to Ianto's face, he drew the beautiful guardian into a slow, sensuous kiss. He felt Ianto's arms slip around his neck as he kissed him back. "Jack, I've missed you so much," Ianto's voice whispered in his head.

A deliciously warm feeling flowed through him and he slipped his arms around his guardian, holding Ianto's well-muscled body tightly against his own. Jack would have loved nothing more than to drag his beautiful Welshman to the bedroom and devour his entire perfect body but he knew Ianto needed an answer from him and since he finally had one to give, he brought the kiss to an end and leaned his forehead against Ianto's.

"I love you, Ianto Jones," he whispered. "You are the best, most beautiful thing in my life and while I still can't understand how you can love me so much after seeing everything I've done I'm not going to question it." He pulled back a little so he could look into Ianto's eyes and smiled adoringly at his lovely guardian.

"I never thought I'd find someone to spend eternity with, partly because the idea seemed impossible, partly because I didn't think I deserved it and partly because I don't do relationships well. Now, out of nowhere, I've been offered the chance to spend what I thought was going to be a long, lonely eternity with you and the idea thrills me more than you can probably imagine. You are everything I want, smart, funny, strong, incredibly beautiful, and sexy as hell. You're absolutely perfect and I want to be with you forever…if you still want me?"

Ianto's beautiful, forest green eyes filled with tears, a few of them escaping down his cheek as he nodded.

Even though he'd been pretty sure of what Ianto's answer would be, Jack couldn't help the tears that came to his eyes in response. He reached out and gently brushed the tears away from his love's beautiful face only slightly surprised when Ianto took the hand gently in his own and kissed it.

He watched the young Welshman close his eyes and take a deep breath before looking back at Jack, a loving smile on his beautiful features.

"I love you, Jack," he whispered.

"I love you too, Ianto."

They gazed at each other for a moment, sky blue eyes burning into forest green before Ianto slid his arms up around Jack's neck once more and kissed him.

Jack couldn't help the groan that escaped him as he slid his arms around Ianto's waist and pulled the young guardian's body up against his. He heard Ianto moan in response and he deepened the kiss pulling his lover gently toward the bedroom.

"Um, Jack."

They both froze and turned toward the door way to find the Doctor standing on the threshold, looking a little embarrassed.

"Yes, Doctor," Jack replied, flashing the time lord one of his infamous Captain Jack Harkness signature grins.

"While I have absolutely no problem with what you two are about to do, I think that perhaps it would be a good idea to move you into a room a little further away from the main area. Things tend to echo in here." The Doctor suggested.

Ianto looked embarrassed.

Jack just laughed. "Anything you like Doctor," he replied taking Ianto's hand and towing him out of the room. Jack pulled Ianto quickly down the corridor eager to get back to what they'd been doing. Halfway down the long winding hallway Ianto's quiet laughter made him stop and cast a curious glance at the Welshman.

"No need to rush, Jack, we've got forever." The beautiful man reminded him.

Jack smiled warmly at the young guardian before pulling him into a heart stopping kiss. When he pulled back a few moments later he cast Ianto a cheeky grin. "I know but I'm impatient," he informed the other man, taking his hand and pulling him down the corridor once more, Ianto's laughter echoing behind them.

* * *

It was late afternoon on the fourth day since the battle and the Torchwood personnel were sitting around the couch sipping coffee and discussing what a dull few days it had been. The TARDIS had been moved back up to the higher levels of the hub after the battle was over, and apparently, even though it was underground, the energy it emitted was strong enough to be detected from thousands of miles above the planet and therefore no one wanted to come anywhere near them. While that was good for the Earth, it made things a little boring for Torchwood. Even the weevils were laying low.

The first day after the battle had been filled with cleaning up the hub and either repairing or reordering the equipment that had been broken or damaged in some way. The other three had been so quiet that Martha had ended up sending everyone home after a few hours of doing nothing, telling them she'd call if there was an emergency.

Getting Gwen to leave had been a challenge. She'd insisted on sitting outside the TARDIS whenever possible, waiting for Jack to emerge, which of course he hadn't yet. After the second day Martha had let herself into the TARDIS once everyone had finally gone home; to find out what Jack was doing so she could tell Gwen and the other woman could stop fretting.

She'd been greeted by the Doctor who, upon questioning, informed her that Jack and Ianto had been in their room since that morning and weren't likely to emerge any time soon. When she'd asked what he thought she should tell Gwen to get her to stop fretting, the Doctor had reminded her of Owen's orders for bed rest which was exactly what she'd told Gwen the next day. It helped…a bit.

Unfortunately it was now the fourth day which meant the end of their ordered rest period and Gwen had once again taken to sitting outside the TARDIS waiting for Jack. They'd managed to coax her over to the couch with coffee but Martha knew that once they were finished she'd be back over there again. Oh well, there was nothing else Martha could do except send her home and she was considering that option since today had been just as quiet as the last few.

"So, Martha what do you think, is Jack ever going to come out of there?" Mickey asked.

Martha shrugged. "I'm assuming so since the Doctor's still parked here. I can't imagine any other reason why he'd stick around," she replied.

The group sat in silence for a moment and Martha was just about to down the rest of her coffee and tell them all to head home when the door to the TARDIS burst open and Jack came running over to them, grinning like a crazy person. He grabbed one of Martha's hands and one of Gwen's and pulled them to their feet.

"Quick, everyone in the TARDIS, we're taking a little trip!" he announced pulling the two women toward the lovely, blue box. "Come on Mickey!" he called over his shoulder.

Mickey knew better than to question Jack and immediately jumped to his feet to follow.

Gwen on the other hand began to protest. "Wait, Jack what's going on, where are we going, is everything all right?"

"Oi, just do what the man says and get in the TARDIS, killjoy!" Mickey interrupted, giving her a slight shove from behind to get her moving.

"But I want to know what's going on and…HEY!" she squealed the last word in surprise when she suddenly found herself thrown over Jack's shoulder. "Jack what the hell's going on? Put me down!" she ordered.

Jack ignored her and continued on into the TARDIS. He dumped her in a chair and ran back to shut the door once Martha, Mickey and Lois were inside. "All right, Doctor we're ready to go!" he announced.

The Doctor came running back into the main room, dressed in his black suit with a sky blue shirt, a black tie and for once, black dress shoes. "All right then everybody on, let's go!" he announced excitedly throwing a lever on one of the consoles.

The TARDIS shook and lurched and the Doctor cast a bright smile over at Jack who returned it with one of his own.

Jack was happy, indescribably happy, and he knew the Doctor was too. He felt a gentle touch on his back and he turned around to see Ianto and Donna standing behind him.

Donna was wearing a lovely, long, emerald green dress; that sat off her shoulders, was fitted at the bust and flowed the rest of the way down to the floor. She looked absolutely stunning and Jack told her so, but most of his attention was focused on his beautiful Welshman. Ianto was dressed immaculately in a classic black suit, with a crimson dress shirt, a black waist coat and a black tie with alternating bands of red and gold.

He smiled up at Jack who reached forward and took Ianto's hands in his, pulling him close. He leaned his forehead against the lovely guardian's and gave him his most loving smile.

"You look perfect, leannan," he complimented, his smile becoming a grin when he saw the curious look on Ianto's face. "Yes, my culture had pet names for their lovers too," he explained.

"So what does it mean?" Ianto asked softly.

"Roughly translated, it means cariad," Jack explained. "I really liked it when you called me that the other day by the way."

Ianto smiled. "I'm glad, I like yours too. Leannan." He tried the word out for himself and nodded. "It has a nice ring to it."

Jack smiled back and reached forward to press a soft kiss to Ianto's lips. "So, what do you think?" he asked when he pulled back, motioning to his own outfit.

Once they'd told the Lady they were planning on going ahead with the binding ritual, she'd taken it upon herself to inform everyone in the eternal kingdom. Tosh had therefore turned up the following day with Katie, Lisa and a few other women who apparently knew Ianto from his time in the eternal kingdom and they'd taken it upon themselves to ensure that Jack, Ianto and Donna were properly prepared for the ceremony (the Doctor had escaped but only because the Lady had decided to bug him personally).

Katie and two of the other ladies had taken Donna and designed her dress just for her. It had then been created in the Eternal kingdom in about five seconds (we've covered this but I'll say it again, it is heaven after all). Lisa had taken charge of Ianto, (he really didn't need any help but it gave her a chance to annoy him a little), which left Jack with Tosh and the rest of the ladies, and boy, had they been bossy!

In the end, they'd managed to get him into a black suit, with a royal blue dress shirt that apparently brought out his eyes, a black waist coat, a black tie identical in style to Ianto's with royal blue and silver bands rather than the red and gold, and black dress shoes. Even he had to admit he looked pretty damn hot, although he would never look as good in a suit as his Welshman.

Ianto kept his gaze locked on Jack's as he replied. "You look stunning, cariad, you always do."

Jack gave him a mock pout despite the warm happy feeling that flowed through him at hearing Ianto's reply. "But you can't give me a proper answer without even looking at my outfit, leannan," he complained in a girly voice that made Ianto laugh.

"All right then," Ianto replied with a mock sigh pulling back so he could look at Jack properly.

Jack tuned his head slightly to the side and pulled a perfect, supermodel pose which made Ianto laugh even more.

"You look wonderful, Jack," Ianto replied once his laughter had died down.

Jack smiled and pulled him in close once more. "Good, because I honestly thought Tosh was going to strangle me before we were done."

Ianto laughed and pressed his lips softly to Jack's. "Well I appreciate it, cariad; thank you."

Jack was about to reply when the TARDIS suddenly came to a stop.

"All right we're here let's go!" the Doctor announced grabbing Donna by the hand and pulling her toward the door.

Jack took Ianto's hand and followed with Mickey, Martha, Lois, and a still confused Gwen close behind.

The Doctor opened the door and the group stepped out into the most beautiful landscape any of them had ever laid eyes on. They were standing atop a plateau, surrounded on three sides by trees of every imaginable shape and colour. The other side had an absolutely breathtaking view of a beautiful city, bathed in the early morning light of three suns. A multicoloured sky floated above them, while thick, green grass carpeted the ground beneath their feet. In the centre of the plateau was a large, raised, stone dais and standing in the middle of that dais was the lady; dressed in a beautiful, multicoloured robe with long, flowing sleeves.

Most surprising of all was that the stone dais was almost completely surrounded by people that Jack, Ianto, the Doctor or Donna had known some time during their lives. Among the group of friends and relatives were the other Doctor and Rose, Tosh and Tommy, Owen and Katie, Lisa and Derrek, Donna's mother and grandfather, Rhys, Allira, Jackie, Sarah Jane, Luke and K9, even Estelle and Steven. There were so many others it was overwhelming and Jack couldn't help the beaming smile that overtook his features. Unfortunately his parents couldn't be there since they hadn't been born yet, but the joy of living forever, was that when the 51st century did finally roll around, he could take Ianto back to his home world and introduce him to them then.

Mickey, Martha, Lois and Gwen quickly scampered over to join the rest of the group, Mickey immediately pulling Rose and Jackie into a tight hug. Once everyone was settled Jack addressed his three companions.

"Everyone ready?" he asked quietly.

There were quiet affirmatives from all of them and Jack nodded.

"Alright then, let's do this."

There was room enough for the four of them to walk up to the dais together, so Jack held one arm out to Ianto and the other out to the Doctor. He felt both arms slide through his, and together, they took a deep breath and made their way up to the stone dais to stand before the Lady.

* * *

Jack leant back against the wall, looking around him with a happy smile on his face. If you were going to have a party, this was certainly the way to do it. After the ceremony was over, Owen had led the group down the side of the plateau, to what looked like an old medieval style castle nestled in the trees. Once inside, he'd led them into the large, high ceilinged ball room; which had been expertly decorated with brightly coloured lights, flowers, candles and metres upon metres of multicoloured ribbon. There were tables set up at one end of the room with extravagant centrepieces and beautiful place settings, while a live band played on a raised stage at the other end, leaving a large space in the middle for dancing.

Jack hadn't been expecting this at all, none of them had. While the girls had been sorting out what everyone was going to wear, Tommy and Derrek and had been helping Allira set up the ballroom and organise the food, drinks and music, while Owen and the Lady had been sorting out the guest list. When Jack, Ianto, the Doctor and Donna had walked into the ballroom after the ceremony they'd nearly fallen over in surprise.

Everything had been absolutely perfect. There was incredible food, the best wine and spirits, the music was fantastic but above all else, the company was excellent. They'd used the tables for as long as it had taken them to eat dinner and then everyone had gotten up and started mingling. It was nice, everyone was getting along, everyone was having a good time, everyone was happy.

Jack and Ianto had made their rounds together, saying hello and thanking everyone for coming, particularly on such short notice (Gwen had been monumentally annoyed that Rhys had known about it and not told her. Rhys just found it amusing since he had been doing exactly as Owen had asked him). Jack had such a good time; seeing people he hadn't encountered in years and introducing them to Ianto. Equally enjoyable was listening to Ianto's thoughts and feelings as he met them.

It was a whole new experience being bound to Ianto, feeling his feelings, hearing his thoughts. The Doctor had been right in his explanation; as soon as Jack touched Ianto, even if it was through his clothing, he could hear the other man's thoughts and some of them were very interesting. Consequently Jack found himself touching Ianto as much as possible so as not to miss out on anything he might have been thinking. Ianto of course could read this in his mind and found it extraordinarily amusing.

They'd finished their rounds and both men had immediately been whisked away to dance, Jack with Estelle, Ianto with Lisa. After being passed between several people, Ianto had been stolen by Allira and Jack had managed to sneak away for a quiet moment and a drink. He stood enjoying not only the view around him, but also the happiness that was flowing through Ianto; Jack couldn't help but think about how lucky he was.

He had found an amazing family in his Torchwood team, all of whom loved him and each other so much, they'd willingly given up a lifetime of happiness and all their future reincarnations to stay together and be near him. He had the Doctor and Donna, both of whom he was absolutely positive would be his friends for the rest of their days. Most importantly of all he had Ianto, a man who couldn't have been more perfect if Jack had dreamed him into life. He loved them, all of them and he was such a lucky man to have them in his life.

"What are you doing hiding over here?"

He looked to his left and found Gwen standing beside him, giving him a curious look. He gave her a friendly smile and replied. "Just having a break from the dancing, giving myself a moment to absorb it all."

"You're not having second thoughts are you?"

Jack ignored the slightly hopeful tone in her voice and shook his head. "No, none at all," he replied with a smile.

"Really?" she asked incredulously.

Jack felt a tinge of annoyance this time and he resisted the urge to glare at her as he replied. "Yes really."

"Wow, I never would have expected that. I figured by now you'd be panicking and looking for the exits." There was jealousy and bitterness behind Gwen's joking tone and Jack's irritation level rose significantly.

"Well I'm not, so how about we talk about something else like what a lovely job everyone did arranging all of this," Jack suggested trying to keep the irritation out of his tone.

"What's wrong, Jack, you sound upset, are you sure you're not having second thoughts?" she asked reaching up to place a hand on his arm.

Just as he was about to pull away he felt a flare of anger in his mind that wasn't coming from him. That could only mean…

"Hey," the pair of them looked around to find Ianto approaching them. On the outside he was the picture of serenity, on the inside he was annoyed and Jack could feel it.

"Oh, Ianto, I was just talking to Jack," Gwen informed him sounding slightly flustered by his sudden appearance.

"So I can see," Ianto replied with perfect civility although his eyes dropped pointedly to Gwen's hand which was still on Jack's arm. When she didn't pull it away he turned his gaze to Jack.

"Jack, the Doctor and Donna wanted to talk to us," he informed him.

"Could you just give us a minute, Ianto?" Gwen asked giving the Welshman puppy dog eyes. "We were just in the middle of something."

Okay, Jack was way past annoyed now and so was Ianto. The Welshman opened his mouth to speak but rather than yelling at Gwen or telling her to go away be replied with.

"Of course, Gwen, take your time, we have got forever after all." It was delivered with perfect sweetness but Jack didn't miss the subtle jab behind those words. Then, in another move that surprised Jack greatly Ianto reached forward and pulled him into a heart stopping kiss.

Jack's mind went completely blank for a moment but he quickly recovered and kissed his Welshman back sliding his arms around his waist and pulling him close. When Ianto pulled away he gazed into Jack's eyes and whispered. "When you're finished over here come and find us, I love you."

"I love you too," Jack managed to reply, still reeling from the kiss.

Ianto gave Jack's hand a gentle squeeze before pulling away and heading back to find the Doctor and Donna.

Jack watched him go, a happy, euphoric feeling flowing through his body. That was his husband. He'd never imagined himself saying it before but god it felt good to think it right now. Ianto was his, all his, forever.

"Um, Jack." He heard Gwen's voice call to him.

"Hmmm," he replied completely incapable of remembering what it was she wanted.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

He nodded. "Oh yeah, I'm good. I'm really, really good. What was it you were saying before?" he asked finally coming back to reality.

"I was…just…checking that you were ok," Gwen replied and Jack finally remembered that they'd been discussing.

He took a deep breath and turned around to face her properly. "Gwen, I need you to understand something. While you and I have been friends since you joined Torchwood and I hope we will continue to be friends for a long time to come, that's all we're ever going to be, friends. I know I might have given you the wrong impression somewhere along the line and if I have I'm truly sorry, but I don't feel that way for you."

Jack turned to look over at Ianto who was chatting with the Doctor and Donna and a small smile spread across his face. "It's always been Ianto," he said quietly turning to look back at Gwen. "He's always been the one. It took me a while to admit it to myself but I love him, Gwen, I love him so much and I'm so happy."

He watched Gwen's eyes fill with tears as the realisation of what he was saying finally seemed to sink in. "But, don't you love me?" she asked tearfully.

Jack nodded. "Of course I do, Gwen. We're friends and friendship is a form of love. I know it's not what you want from me but it's all I can give you and if you want to stay a part of mine and Ianto's life then you have to accept that."

Gwen looked down and gave him the barest of nods.

"You should be happy, you have a husband who loves you and a beautiful baby boy to chase after. You're a lucky woman, Gwen," Jack reminded her.

Gwen nodded again. "I know I am," she replied finally looking up. "He's just…not you." She gave him one last tear filled look before turning around and walking away.

Jack watched her go with a shake of his head. He really hadn't wanted to get into this with Gwen tonight; but at least it was sorted now and maybe she could finally get over him. He thought she had long ago but apparently he'd been wrong. With one last glance at her retreating figure he made his way over to where Ianto, the Doctor and Donna were talking.

"Hey, there you are," Donna greeted him as he came up behind Ianto and slid his arms around the guardian's waist.

"I'm sorry about that," he whispered in his love's ear.

"It's not your fault, you didn't make her rude and self absorbed," Ianto dismissed Jack's concern.

"I can't believe you didn't say anything to her. I was going to but you kind of redirected my attention," Jack informed him with a sly grin.

Ianto returned his grin for a moment before becoming serious. "You know I'm not the kind of person to be overtly rude to anyone, even if they do deserve it. Besides, it's not her fault that you're so irresistibly perfect and everyone you meet immediately falls for you," Ianto said doing his best not to grin.

"Oh please don't get him started," the Doctor groaned causing the other three to laugh.

"Anyhow, you're mine now. I'm the one who gets to spend eternity by your side, what would it help to be mean to her when I know she'll never take you from me?" Ianto continued.

"Yeah, why waste your energy being unkind to someone when you can kiss your man senseless right in front of them," Donna added with a wink in Ianto's direction.

Jack gave Ianto a sly smile. "So that's what that was for?" he asked.

Ianto just shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a nice person but I'm not a saint,"

Jack just laughed, pulling Ianto into a gentle hug. "You are a saint, Ianto Jones; I can't believe you never did something like that before. I noticed how much her actions annoyed you just then, they must have annoyed you at least that much in the past. "

Ianto nodded. "Yeah they did, but things were different before, I never really knew where I stood with you," the guardian admitted.

Jack felt a wave of guilt wash over him and he pulled back to look his lover in the eye. "I'm sorry," he said simply.

Ianto shook his head. "Don't be sorry, Jack. It's not like I didn't know what I was getting myself into when I agreed to go out on a date with you."

Jack just gazed at him for a moment, completely in awe of the man in his arms. "I love you did you know that?" he asked quietly.

A bright smile lit up Ianto's face. "I love you too, cariad."

"Not to break up your moment but we wanted to ask you both something," the Doctor interrupted.

Jack and Ianto turned to face him and Donna.

"Of course, sorry, Doctor," Ianto apologised. "What did you want to talk to us about?"

"We were actually wondering what your plans are now, the pair of you?" The Doctor asked.

"Oh," Jack turned to look questioningly at Ianto who gave him a blank look in response. "We haven't really discussed it in detail, why?" he asked turning back to look at the Doctor.

"We were just wondering if you'd like to come with us for a while. See the stars, explore the universe, a little more sober than we have been the last year or so." The Doctor offered.

"Oh…we'd have to talk about it," Jack replied rather surprised by the offer. He figured the Doctor would have been sick of him by now.

"Well, you two talk about it and get back to us, we're leaving in a couple of days," the Doctor told them.

Jack was about to respond when Tosh's voice came over the speakers.

"Hi everyone, how are we all doing tonight? I'm Toshiko Sato, for those of you who don't know me; I used to be the resident computer genius for Torchwood 3. While I don't know the Doctor or Donna very well I'd like to believe that I know Jack and Ianto about as well as anyone ever really will. They were great colleagues while we worked for Torchwood 3, but more importantly than that, they were and always will be, incredible friends. Jack, you saved my life and showed me all the wonders of the universe, you pulled me out of the darkness and made me part of something extraordinary. Ianto, you were always there for me, helping me through the losses of Mary and Tommy, enduring late night phone calls when I couldn't sleep, saving me from cannibals at no small risk to yourself. You are two of the best friends I could ever have wished for and I will be eternally thankful to have you as part of my existence."

Applause erupted from around the room and Jack turned questioning eyes on Ianto who was smiling warmly at Tosh. "I never realized you two were so close," he said in surprise.

Ianto's eyes never left Tosh as he replied. "There are very few people in the world who could understand each other as well as Tosh and I. She was the first to come and talk to me after Lisa and I was the first to offer her any understanding after Mary. After that we got to be friends and in the end I think I was closer to her than I have ever been to anyone, except you." He divulged.

"What about Lisa?" Jack asked.

"Even Lisa," Ianto replied.

"Wow!" Jack stated in shock. "You and Tosh didn't…" He trailed off knowing Ianto would know what he was talking about.

Ianto just laughed and shook his head. "No, Jack we were never like that. I am curious though, if we had, would it have bothered you?" he asked.

"Hell no! It would have given me something lovely to visualise though," he finished with a suggestive raise of his eyebrow.

Ianto was about to retort when the applause died down and Tosh spoke again.

"What most people don't know about me is that before I found my true calling in science I had an insatiable passion for music, yes I know big shock right? But I did, and while I was living out my life of bliss in the Eternal Kingdom I decided to write a few songs and sing a little. I called upon my life experiences and wrote things that explained what it meant to be a part of Torchwood. I wrote quite a few, but my favourite was a song that I called, Last Night on Earth and I'd like to sing it tonight because I think it's a song that everyone here can relate to. So, if I could ask both of our couples to step out on to the floor – Yes I know Donna and the Doctor aren't a couple in the traditional sense of the word but they can still have a dance together – and if I could ask everyone else to please find someone you care about, whether it be a lover or a friend and join our couples out here for their first dance. This song is a celebration of love in all its forms, I hope you enjoy it." She finished as lovely soft piano music began to play.

Jack took Ianto's hand and led them out on to the dance floor. Just as they stopped and Jack pulled Ianto into his arms the music kicked up to a higher tempo and became a beautiful flowing melody. Jack wrapped one arm around Ianto's waist, holding the guardian's body tightly against his while the other hand took a hold of Ianto's and held it to his chest. He pressed his cheek against his Welshman's and began to move with the music just as Tosh began to sing.

_"It's the last night on earth before the great divide  
My hands are shaking time was never on our side  
There's no such thing as a beautiful goodbye  
As an ordinary day I prayed for you a thousand times_

__

It's never enough  
No matter how many times I tried to tell to tell you this is love

_If tomorrow never comes I want you to know right now that I  
I'm gonna love you until the day I die  
And if tomorrow falls asleep can you hold me first  
I'm gonna love you like it's the last night on earth  
Like it's the last night on earth _

"Hey Jack," he heard Ianto whisper.

"Yeah," he whispered back.

"We're married," Ianto replied.

"Yeah we are," Jack agreed quietly.

"Never would have imagined this happening while I was still alive."

Jack felt a stab of pain in his heart and instinctively tightened his grip on the young guardian. He knew Ianto would have felt that just like he felt Ianto's guilt at his reaction.

"I'm sorry," the Welshman whispered. "I wasn't trying to hurt you."

"I know it's okay," Jack reassured him but he didn't loosen his grip on his Welshman.

_A penny for your thoughts  
A picture so it lasts  
Let's knock down the walls of immortality  
Your fingers on my skin only you can hear my fear  
Only you can help me heal  
I see forever with you here _

Jack felt a thrill pulse through him as Tosh sang that verse and he knew Ianto felt the same thing. They did have forever, they never had to let go of each other again.

__

It's never enough no matter how many miles stand between us this is love

_If tomorrow never comes I want you to know right now that I  
I'm gonna love you until the day I die  
If tomorrow falls asleep can you hold me first  
I'm gonna love you like it's the last night on earth _

"Ianto," Jack whispered quietly.

"Mmm," the Welshman replied.

"It's always been you," Jack divulged quietly. "I don't know if you ever knew, but all the flirting with Gwen, all the trying to keep you out of Torchwood, it was all because the moment I met you I felt something I've never felt for anyone before and it scared me. I was trying to avoid my feelings, even after we finally started dating properly, but I wanted you to know they were always there, it was always you I wanted, never anyone else," he finished.

He felt Ianto's arm tighten around him and smiled at the happy, warm feeling that he could feel flowing through Ianto in response to his words.

__

It's never enough  
No it's never enough  
(it's never enough)  
Oohh

_The afterglow  
The horizon line  
The shadows fall  
Will you still be mine  
Will you still be mine  
Will you still be mine I ask_

Jack felt Ianto pulling back and for a moment he began to worry that something was wrong. He was pleasantly surprised when he felt Ianto's hand slide up to cradle the back of his head and the Welshman kissed him. 

_If tomorrow never comes I want you to know right now that I  
I'm gonna love you until the day I die  
If tomorrow falls asleep can you hold me first  
I'm gonna love you like it's the last night on earth."_

The song ended but neither of them noticed, Jack pulled his other hand free of Ianto's and wrapped it around the gorgeous guardian pulling him impossibly closer. This was the true meaning of happiness; moving around on a dance floor with the man he loved in his arms, surrounded by all those he'd ever held dear. He had never intended to get married again after Alice's mother; but it felt absolutely incredible to know that from now on, no matter where he went or what he did, this amazingly beautiful man was going to be by his side.

They pulled back from the kiss and gazed at each other sky blue burning intently into forest green. Everything they'd had to go through to get here, all the pain, the struggle, the death, it was all worth it just for his moment. With a loving smile Jack reached up to gently caress Ianto's face.

"I love you, Ianto Jones," he whispered.

"I love you too, Jack Harkness," Ianto whispered back.

Their lips met one more and the rest of the room disappeared into a swirl of colour and light.

For the first time since Rose had brought him back to life on that space station, Captain Jack Harkness was looking forward to eternity.

* * *

THE END!!!!! Ok so did we like it???? Please review and let me know. Thank you to everyone that did review they were all appreciated and once more sorry about the mix up I wasn't snobbing anyone Stupid Firefox!!!!!

Also If you liked the story please let me know I have several others that I'm working on and would love to post up I'd just like to know if anyone wants to read them. There are also others from this universe so if you want to read them let me know.

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH KISSES AND HUGS. THANK YOU SOCALROSE ONCE AGAIN I LOVE YOU TO BITS!!!!

bye bye for now

Kayla

Tried to put the youtube link on and it didn't work so if you ant to look it up it's easy to find on youtube just don't listen to the live one it's not as good.

Cheers

Kayla


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